Mirrors
by Ray Venn Hakubi
Summary: Plotted and written preStrikerS, so should be considered AU. Nanoha and Fate are still best friends, but the demands of work rarely let them see each other. When a terrible accident occurs, that may change...
1. Normality

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the worlds in this fic, or anything else portrayed. I did create the villains and story, though. I guess that means they're free for the taking, but if you do, just let me know if you would. Maho Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha and Maho Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's were produced by Ivory and Seven Arcs.

* * *

**Chapter 1 - 'Normality'**

13.40, 11th June, Cadet Wing, Time and Space Administration Bureaux.

"Cadet Raponji!" The voice was cold and intimidating, and the male human with brown hair stopped in his tracks, turning to face the shorter woman who was addressing him. "Yes, miss?" he smiled sweetly at the light-haired Japanese female, noting that she was only about sixteen years old. More a girl than a woman. He briefly wondered what she wanted, and how such a sweet face could have so cruel a voice.

"I believe that combat training is timetabled next for the new recruits?" She scowled up at him, and his smile wavered at the look.

"Yes, I think so. Aren't you a little young to be a recruit, though?" he replied, taking in her casual clothing. She wasn't wearing a cadet's uniform, which was strange – he'd not thought that anyone other than high-ranking field agents were allowed to walk around without their uniforms.

"Please tell me where you think _you_ are going, in that case?" The girl's lips thinned to an irritated line as she spoke.

"I'm being trained as a communications officer, so I don't need to learn to fight any better than I already can." He grinned. "Who are you, by the way? If you're a cadet, shouldn't you be in uniform?"

"Your timetable says that you have combat training now with Takamachi-sensei." Again, the girl didn't answer the question.

"It's a misprint." Raponji replied, starting to get irritated. It didn't even cross his mind to ask how she knew what was on his timetable. "Now, tell me who you are before I lose my temper. Civilians shouldn't be wandering around this base."

"It is not a misprint, Raponji. Takamachi-sensei is too soft on her students, but she will report it." With that, the girl sighed and walked away. As if to underline her point, a whirring above him alerted Raponji to one of the many CCTV cameras he'd forgotten about. "Oh, you might want to stop off at the cadet armoury on your way. I'm told she can get a little enthusiastic in her demonstrations sometimes." She called back over her shoulder before vanishing round a corner. Sighing, Raponji changed direction and started back towards the instruction areas, fighting down his irritation at the nameless civilian. He supposed being taught by instructor Takamachi was an honour, but he really couldn't be bothered with learning to fight. Briefly, he wondered what the great hero looked like. He was probably tall and ruggedly handsome, Raponji realised, but inhuman in some way. Why else would they have kept his picture – and any details about him – hidden than if he weren't an alien?

Nearby, Nanoha hid a smile behind her hand. By now, she was well used to being underestimated and talked down to – everyone had _heard_ of Takamachi Nanoha, but very few of them realised that she'd been nine when she'd performed her seemingly miraculous Lost Logia sealings, and those who had heard that part put the stories down to exaggeration. Turning into a blind alley (She'd heard a pair of cadets wondering why there were so many blind alleys in the Bureau's headquarters. She remembered with a smile that they'd eventually decided they were defensive foxholes in case the base was attacked), she took out her ID card and waved it in front of the wall. A moment later, she stepped through the short-range teleport to arrive in her classroom. It was a running joke among the cadets that the instructors must all secretly be ninja as well as mages – how else could they leave after you, but always be in their room before you arrived?

Unlike most of the teaching rooms in the base, Nanoha's was mostly open. Lockers stood on one side of the thirty-foot-square; dome-roofed chamber and two doors led off it. One was a cupboard where training staves were stored, the other a small changing room for any girls in the group. Mats lay across the floor except at the edges where there was a walkway of polished wood. The walls and floor were inscribed with hundreds of runes – inert at the moment – that when activated would seal the room in the most powerful set barrier the Bureau's defence specialists had been able to concoct. It would be incredibly bad if the base were damaged because of a stray shot from a half-trained mageling.

Nanoha reached into the neck of her T-shirt and pulled out Raging Heart, holding the marble-sized red gem between index finger and thumb. Silently, she asked the sentient device to activate her armour and apologised for not using her with the students who would be arriving any moment. As the white and black sleeveless dress formed around her, followed by the jacket and fastenings, she chuckled again to herself that she still hadn't got around to sorting out a uniform. It was just so much harder to change her armour once Raging Heart knew what she wanted than it had been to create the design in the first place. As the armour finished forming, she slipped the gem on its string back under the jacket and looked over at the door. It opened a few moments later to reveal the first of her students. It was a new class. She wasn't the only combat instructor on the base – in fact, under normal circumstances she wouldn't have been teaching initiate classes at all. Her power level and the unique trait she shared with only two other mages – the ability to activate magical devices with willpower alone – meant that she was usually given advanced classes. However, that was not why she had been given this group of fresh recruits. Every one of them was trouble in one way or another. Either like Raponji, they didn't see the need to go through the combat instruction regime, or they had something limiting or uncontrolled about their linker core.

The rest of the class filed in slowly, Raponji at the rear looking bored already. As a group, they were fairly varied. A pair of albino mixed twins scowled together at the edge of the room. A shy looking girl shifted uncomfortably on her own, clutching a book. Three vicious looking males talked together, glancing at the girl occasionally. A nervous boy was inching closer to the bookish girl, trying not to be noticed by anyone. The group ran a gamut of the ages – the shy girl looked about thirteen, the trio of boys a couple of years older. The twins looked to be at the upper end of the teens, as did the nervous boy. Raponji was oldest, being into his early twenties. The Bureaux recruited talent from a myriad of different worlds, and it wasn't uncommon for recruits to be even older than the communications trainee. For his part, Raponji looked annoyed about the whole thing.

"Not only have I been put in a group with a bunch of _children_, the instructor is late!" He grumbled out loud, and everyone looked at him. He noticed Nanoha, and scowled straight at her. "Why am I bothering with this? What's so special about this Takamachi fellow anyway?"

"He's a great hero… he destroyed the Tome of the Night Sky…" the shy girl whispered, as though she didn't want to be noticed but felt the need to defend her hero. Nanoha let them talk, wanting to get a feel for her class.

"That Book of Darkness thing? That was years ago." Raponji sneered.

"Seven to this day, to be precise." Nanoha interjected, and the trio of boys glanced over at her as though they'd only just noticed her. Seeing the almost predatory gleam in their eyes turned on her, she decided that it was time to start. "Just to make sure everyone is here – role call."

"Umm… Wait… I was told there were eight in the class…" The nervous boy blinked at her, looking around. The truth dawned on him a moment later. "Y-you're commander Takamachi!" he blurted out, surprise colouring his voice. The others all showed various elements of that same surprise. Raponji's look of shock and annoyance was expected, if not a little gratifying, but the bookish girl's sigh of disappointment surprised her.

'_One of the disadvantages of anonymity, I guess… disappointed crushes._' Nanoha smiled at the girl gently, regretting the Tome's notoriety once more. That most people assumed she was male wasn't much of a surprise, but it did get tiring.

"Instructor. I'm not a commander, LaFay-san. So, sound off." She said aloud. "You first." She indicated Raponji.

"Cadet Gram Raponji, communications division. Is this some kind of a joke?" he growled. She ignored him, then looked at the three boys.

"Cadet Richard o'Shee, enforcement."

"Cadet Antoine Duchovni, enforcement."

"Cadet Benjamin Gray, enforcement." They sounded off, one by one. All three seemed torn between fear and hunger, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling to be the subject.

"Cadet Morgan LaFay, support mage." The nervous boy stammered, and the twins sniggered. He coloured and looked away. Nanoha didn't get it, but she wasn't going to let that on. She'd been teaching for two years now, and she'd got the hang of acting omniscient.

"Is there something amusing, Anderson-tai?" she asked in her 'disapproving educator' voice, giving them a cold look.

"No, instructor." The girl replied quickly, whopping her brother on the head to shut him up.

"Cadet Dana Anderson, Infiltration." She finished.

"Cadet Fox Anderson, Investigations." The boy said immediately after.

"C… cadet Pai'na Arachne." The shy girl responded finally after another smile of encouragement.

"Right. As you've probably worked out by now, my name is Takamachi Nanoha. For now, call me Takamachi-sensei or Instructor. I suspect you've found in your other classes, you'll have been exposed to a fairly academic style of teaching in line with what you'd expect from a school or university. I expect this has annoyed the older of you, since you came here expecting to work. I must apologise for the way things are handled here, especially in regards to the older cadets. That aside, when you are with me there are two rules. One, when you come in through that door." She pointed at the now closed door. "Anything that's bothering you, any personal problems you may have with each other or anything else stay outside. We are here for a reason. On the other hand, I'm usually available outside of lessons if there is something you wish to speak to me about. The second rule is that once we are in here, I am in charge. I do not care who you were before coming here. Inside this circle the only thing that matters is your ability to fight. Who among you can fight? I do not necessarily mean magic."

"I was military before coming here. I can already protect myself, so you don't need to bother with me." Raponji replied instantly and arrogantly.

"Very well. Show me." Nanoha replied, and he blinked.

"You mean… you want me to fight you..?" He asked, uncertain. She simply nodded. "Alright, but don't blame me if you get hurt." He finished before moving closer. When he was about five feet away, he dropped into a stance. Nanoha just stood there.

"Begin." She told him, and after a moments hesitation he lunged forward with the heel of his left palm aiming to strike her flank. Without effort, she sidestepped the strike and turned her fingers, tapping the back of his wristwatch as he went past her and sending him sprawling to the floor. She turned away from him as he picked himself up, grimacing, and opened her mouth to speak.

"There is a reason that all Bureau members, whether field operatives or base personnel are trained in combat. There is always the chance…" as she spoke, she reached back and caught the neck-chop Raponji was attempting to use to strike her, twisting his arm around until he was barely able to stand, torso horizontal and facing up. "That the base will be compromised. By the time you leave here," she released Raponji's arm and he fell in a heap before sitting up, rubbing it and scowling at her resentfully "you will be the best you can be. All of you are here because the other instructors couldn't help you. I know that for some, it was not unwillingness that sent you here but actual, physical problems. I will not judge you on either, as long as you promise to do your best for me." She looked at each of them in turn. "Do you promise me that, cadets?" she asked finally. All of them nodded.

"I.. I'll do what I can, instructor." Pai'na stammered, and she spoke for all of them.

"Then lets get started." Nanoha smiled, and started giving out training staves.

* * *

"Alright, that's enough." Nanoha smiled firmly, and the students (who were practicing individual kata) stopped, turning to look at her. All of them were a little worn out, but LaFay and Arachne were positively exhausted. That worried Nanoha, since if ordinary physical training was this draining then magic would likely wipe them out completely. 

"Put your staves back in the cupboard. We're finished for the day. I hope this light introduction has alerted you to the level of fitness required here. I'm going to recommend that you all begin performing daily exercises if you do not already, and if you do then to step them up. Are there any questions?"

"Instructor, do you have any advice for exercising?" LaFay asked, and Nanoha smiled again.

"Of course. I'm glad you asked. For my personal regime, I start with some stretches first thing after waking up, then run a circuit of the ring, carrying weights. After that, I return to my quarters and go through several kata before stretching out, getting changed and jogging to breakfast. For you, though, I'd recommend only doing a quarter of the ring, and not using weights, until you can do that without difficulty. It's a bad idea to do too much too quickly, because you'll rip something." When she finished speaking, she set one track of her mind to dismantle the barrier. True, they hadn't been casting spells, but regulations stated that when in use, the combat training arena must be warded. "Anything else? No? Then class dismissed. Please put your staves in the store cupboard."

"Instructor Takamachi?" A female voice asked as the door opened, and Nanoha looked over.

"Ah! Limietter-chuuso! What brings you here?" Nanoha turned to smile at the divination and information specialist, pleasantly surprised by the older woman's visit. It meant that the Asura was in dock, for one thing.

"Captain Halloun just wanted you to know that we're back. Oh, and Chief Librarian Scrya wanted to know if you were still on for tomorrow." Even though Chrono was an Admiral by now, everyone still called him Captain to avoid confusion with his mother. In the same way, Yuuno was Chief Librarian rather than simply Librarian because since he'd joined the Bureau, several of his even younger relations had also signed on in junior positions. It had become something of a joke among the teaching staff that if house Scrya didn't like you, the entire library 'mafia' would be against you.

"Ah. Of course. Tell the Don that he'd better be ready, yeah?" Nanoha grinned. "Oh... are you holding a shore party this time?" The last of the students had walked out of the room before she'd asked about the party, though she was fairly certain someone had heard her call Yuuno 'the Don'.

"Naturally. Ne, Nanoha, how have things been here? Something must be up, for you to be teaching the fresh blood." Amy came in slightly further before leaning against the wall.

"No, not really... every thing's fine. These are just another... difficult group. The girl with glasses can only use magic to manipulate spiders, the older man refuses to believe he needs training, that kind of thing. Raponji, I think I can pass into the normal program fairly quickly, but a couple of the others I'm not sure about."

"Well, I'm sure you'll do your best! Oh, have the results come back yet?"

"Yep!" Nanoha grinned. "I have my flying colours. I'm now a fully qualified pilot!"

"Terrifying. You four... youngest admiral, youngest instructor, youngest strike leader... Between you, Chrono, Hayate and Fate, sometimes I think the rest of us are just for appearances. Is there anything you can't do?" Amy's voice was joking – she didn't really hold any resentment.

"Algebra." Nanoha replied solemnly, and they shared a laugh. "Come on, lets get some lunch. You have to be sick of ship food by now!"

The two women left the room, Nanoha turning to lock it behind her, and headed towards the canteen. In Admiral Graham's day, it had been called the mess hall, but when Lindy took the position she told the cooks that she didn't care what they called it as long as they served good food. It had been the canteen ever since. Leaving the hatch, they crossed the large room with their trays and sat at one of the trestle tables. In the canteen, all rank distinctions were voided, making it a neutral ground where no one could lord over another, and a place where free discussion between almost anyone was possible. That was the theory, anyway. There were always some who thought that their birth-rank, wealth or Bureau rank meant they could do whatever they pleased to those they considered below them.

"Hello, Nanoha-chan." Fate murmured from beside her in Japanese. The others were already eating, having gone straight to the canteen from finishing shore duties. The only ones missing now were Alex, Lindy and Yuuno. The former was watching the Asura in his duty as supply officer, and Yuuno was probably reading and had forgotten the time. Lindy was likely in her office, dealing with this or that problem. She rarely had a chance to eat in the canteen, since unlike her predecessor she did not have familiars to help with the workload.

"Fate-chan. How did it go?" Nanoha smiled at the quiet girl. Even after seven years, Fate's voice was still soft, and she rarely raised it.

"Well... the event was averted. There were no injuries." Fate said it in the same way she said everything else, even though most missions ended with at least one clerk hurt or wounded in some way. Then again, the Asura's missions – and by proxy, Fate's missions – were often not only the most dangerous, but the most well executed in the entire Bureau. Admittedly, that may have been as much Chrono's planning and Amy's information as Fate's magic and fighting ability, but she did look after her men.

"How long are you in dock for?" was the next question, and it was the captain who answered.

"A few days only, since we're here to re-stock. The Asura should technically still be on patrol, but that Logia drained her fuel, and used almost all Fate's cartridges. She's modest about it, as usual, but that should tell you how hard we really had to work."

"Ouch. Sounds rough." Nanoha replied, cringing slightly as she wondered just what could drain the fuel tanks of an L-class patrol ship like the Asura. The L-class weren't the biggest ships the Bureau used, but they were the mainstay of their fleet due to their adaptability and the fact that they could in theory remain on patrol for years between having to re-stock at base. The Asura had been out for only two months.

"Oh, is Hayate back yet? I've not seen her around." Chrono asked, changing the subject and ignoring the reproachful look from his subcommander. Even though Amy was two years older than her captain, the two were known to have maintained a 'secret' relationship for most of the last two years. It was understandable that Limietter was a little jealous when after every patrol, her partner asked after another woman. Especially when it was Yagami Hayate, who was a good seven years younger than the information specialist and looked set to keep her prettiness for most of her life.

"Been and gone," Nanoha replied, shaking her head. "Shamal-san was keeping an eye on the house in Uminari when she started detecting some strange energy signatures. The Wolkenritter were sent to investigate, since you were already embroiled and I had to take care of a problem class. Signum-san left a message for you, though, Fate-chan." The blonde looked up, interested. "She said she'd contact you as soon as possible to arrange your next.. er, sparring session." Nanoha cringed as passing on the message reminded her of the last one. They'd asked to use her teaching room for it, and... well, the wards had needed a full overhaul. Nanoha had been forced to teach theory for a week, and when you're a combat instructor known for making her lessons enjoyable, if difficult, desk-learning was a pain.

"Thank you... may we..?" Fate asked, but nodded in understanding when Nanoha shook her head.

"Not in my room again. You'll have to use the arena on Midchilda unless you can find some deathworld that's not being used."

"I see... that's alright. I understand. I am sorry for last time.." Fate murmured in response.

"It's alright, I just don't want to go through it again." Nanoha paused, thoughtfully. "However... I think... yes. Will you do me a favour? Some of my current class have problems with confidence. If you would help me give a demonstration, it would be a help."

"You wish to have them watch us fight? I do not see how..." Fate looked at her, not understanding.

"Not you and Signum... you and myself. I want to show them how even a beginner like I was when we first met can grow strong enough to defeat the black lightning."

"Even though you're the White Demon now?" Amy teased, and Nanoha coloured. The legacy of her retort to Vita still lived on, and would probably never fade. "Incidentally, how is the White Demon's love life? Have you and Yuuno..?"

"er..." if anything, Nanoha looked more uncomfortable than embarrassed by the admittedly intimate question. "No... well... we might, but..."

"Something always happens to stop it?" Amy guessed, and Nanoha nodded. "Aww, but you're such a cute couple! You should work at it, Nanoha."

The instructor nodded, but she seemed strangely uncertain. Amy was almost certain that Yuuno was in love with Nanoha, but... she was starting to wonder if the attraction was mutual, despite what the gossips said. According to the rumour mill - which she kept up on through the comm. net if not on base herself - the two were likely to be married soon. They'd had an on-and-off relationship now for three years, though if Nanoha was telling the truth it hadn't developed into a sexual one with their coming of age.

"I guess you're right." Nanoha mumbled into her food.

"I'll do it, for you." Fate said, getting the conversation back on track. Nanoha looked up at the sixteen-year-old with a smile.

"Thanks." she replied, then put her cutlery down. Forks had been somewhat hard to get used to at first, but she could use them as well as any of the others. It still made her chuckle to know that no matter how hard he tried, Chrono couldn't use chopsticks.

A few moments later, Yuuno walked into the canteen, getting a sandwich from the hatch and crossing over to them, spilling half his lettuce on the floor as he absent-mindedly bit into it as he walked, reading from the slim tome in his hand. He only lifted his eyes from the book when Amy called his name and waved him over. With a smile, he put the book into a pocket and walked over, sitting next to them.

"Hello, Amy, Chrono. I didn't know you were back yet. You're not due for another six months, are you?" He gave Nanoha a smile, which she returned.

"We got drained by a Logia, had to return for restocking." Chrono replied. The two men were friends, though Yuuno's library work and Chrono's eight-month patrols meant they rarely saw each other in person. Since most of their professional contact went through Amy and one of Yuuno's assistants, Ino Scrya, they rarely spoke while on duty either.

"Ah. The Grey Vortex, yes?" Yuuno asked, and Chrono nodded. "The device designed to absorb and store energy for later use that lost its ability to release it's burden as anything but destructive blasts..." He might have gone on, but Chrono interrupted him.

"So, how's the family?" The captain asked, and Yuuno grinned.

"My sister just had another one. Her first just turned eight, ready to leave on his first expedition. Hopefully, it'll go better than mine!" The librarian grinned, and they all chuckled remembering the jewel-seed fiasco. That had seem so catastrophic at the time, but since then they'd all seen far worse. Precia's death had been merciful in the end. Such was often not the case among those caught up in the maelstrom of the lost logia. Some whispered that the Scrya family should be broken to prevent them uncovering any more treacherous artefacts, but few who bore wisdom would agree. It was better that the Logia were found and catalogued in an ordered fashion than released by greedy treasure-hunters haphazardly, and stopping official investigation would not stop the Logia from appearing.

"You all start so young. How do you manage?" Amy sighed, and Yuuno shrugged.

"Don't worry, Amy, they make me feel old too," Chrono grinned, "and I'm only six years older."

"At least some of your crew respect you." Nanoha grumbled. "One of my students is still convinced that the real 'Instructor Takamachi' is going to step out of hiding and send me to my room. Not to mention another disappointed crush."

"Maybe you should try and get them to publish your information, now that you're older?" Amy asked, and Nanoha shrugged.

"They would not..." Fate murmured over her apple and mango juice.

"No? What makes you say that?" The commander asked, blinking.

"The story is too old. That, and they like their mysterious hero. 'He' made too good news as an unknown." The blonde finished with a slight shrug before standing up. "I am going to go make sure they have not given my quarters to a rookie while I was out." Without waiting for an answer, as was her way, she turned and took her tray to the stands and left.

"The way she leaves like that... makes me wonder what she's running away from!" Amy joked as soon as she was out of earshot, receiving a grin from Yuuno and a confused look from Nanoha and Chrono.

"What do you mean?" the captain asked, tilting his head.

"She fancies you, Chrono. It's obvious." Yuuno supplied, and both Nanoha and Chrono stared at him.

"But she's my sister!" Chrono replied at the same time Nanoha made a similar comment.

"Only by adoption, remember." Amy continued. "Not that I'll let her..." the woman continued, scowling. "You're my territory."

"How is that coming, by the way? Do you think they'll transfer you off the Asura after the ceremony?" Nanoha quickly changed the subject.

"No way. We provide far too many good results together for them to do that." Amy responded with a smirk.

"Didn't stop them moving Jones and Powis apart. They were the top crew before you two came on the scene."

"Well... maybe. I can do my job just as well from the base in theory. It might be for the best." Amy's voice was thoughtful as she looked appraisingly at her fiancé.

"Er... I don't like that look..." Chrono mumbled, shifting uncomfortably. "What are you scheming?"

"Oh, nothing." The information specialist replied, glibly. "Just thinking it'll make it easier to look after our children."

"Ch-children?!" Chrono blurted, loud enough to get some of the people at nearby tables to glance over and inciting a fit of giggles and sniggers from a nearby table of female enforcement clerks. "I'm only twenty, for gods' sakes!"

"Good time to start.. ne?" Limietter teased, tracing circles on his arm with her index finger and leaning closer to whisper in his ear. "I want a lot, you know..."

The look on the admiral's face was too much for Nanoha, and she started giggling uncontrollably into her hand.

"It is good, my master." Raging Heart made its' presence known from under her shirt, which set Yuuno and Amy off as well. Eventually, Chrono realised that he was being played and joined in.

"You're too cruel..." he sighed when they'd subsided, "really... you'll have to make it up to me..." his voice quiet and depressed-sounding.

"Of... of course I will.." It was Amy's turn to look worried that she'd upset her betrothed. As Nanoha finished eating and stood, Chrono relented and slipped a hand around Amy's waist to hug her.

"I guess you should get started, hmm?" he whispered with a wicked grin, and Yuuno averted his eyes while Nanoha studied her tray.

"Right, yes. We'll see you later, Yuuno, Nanoha." The IT specialist said over her shoulder as the slightly shorter admiral led her away from the table. Nanoha waved before putting her tray away and going back to collect theirs, forgotten in the eagerness to return to their quarters and make up for lost time.

* * *

Fate sighed softly to herself as she stared at the small golden triangle in her hand. She sat on the bed in her quarters, wearing her uniform. 

She closed her hands around Bardiche almost tightly enough to break the skin and felt the edges of her oldest friend cutting into her palm. As she did so, she thought again of the women who had brought her to this place... Mother, Linith, Alicia... the first three. Nanoha, Suzuka and Arisa the second... then finally, Lindy, Amy and Nanoha's mother, so different from her own.

In her own way, Fate loved them all. Each of them had shown her something... she owed them all. Even though Precia was not her mother, she had created her and given her purpose. Linith had shown her kindness of a sort, and the second-hand memory of the organised maid-familiar was a comfort. Alicia had given her a childhood... in a way, even though she was not as Precia had intended, Fate owed Alicia her identity.

Nanoha's mother and Lindy had given her what Precia had not - a safe refuge, a place to look for protection. They had been rocks for her, a foundation to rebuild after her own mother had shattered her. Amy was an elder sister, sometimes unhelpful and often jealous but still there when she was needed.

Suzuka and Arisa had given her companionship, friendship on the same level as her own... if Arisa was immature, she was strong, standing in the face of difficulty with an iron heart. Where Suzuka was often weak, willing to let the bad things pass by, she was wiser than her years, always willing to give advice or a distraction from everything that was wrong with the world...

Nanoha was the guidance... a beacon, shining at the end of the darkest paths. She...

The thought was interrupted as the door chimed to let her know that someone wanted to come in. Guiltily, Fate put Bardiche on the shelf and quick-stepped to the door to palm it open.

"Hi." Nanoha smiled softly from the other side. "May I..?" she waved at the inside of the room.

Fate nodded and moved to let her in. Nanoha entered the room and looked around. Like its occupant, everything was understated. A handful of service trophies stood on a shelf next to the Uminari Secondary volleyball championship cups of three years, a photo of her strike team stood on the shelf above her bed, and that was it as far as decorations went.

"Sorry. Most of my pictures are still aboard the Asura." Fate murmured, and Nanoha smiled as she saw the open kit bag on the floor by the bed, a picture of herself, Arisa and Suzuka on top. It was the old one, taken back when they'd been waiting for news of Fate's trial so long ago.

"That's okay. You aren't staying long..." Nanoha trailed off as Fate sat on the bed and patted the covers next to her.

"I would prefer to be here longer... sit with me?"

As Nanoha sat on the bed next to the slightly taller girl, she was a little surprised to feel the arm around her shoulders, as though Fate were leaning on her for support.

"It was bad... wasn't it?" Nanoha asked, switching back to Japanese. She felt Fate nodding through the tension in her arm.

"I almost lost them all... Nanoha-chan... it's only the second patrol I've been a strike commander, and I nearly lost all my men..."

"Ssh... it's okay. You brought them home, didn't you..?" She started rubbing a hand up and down the girl's back, comfortingly.

"But next time... what if..."

"You'll be alright, Fate-chan.. I promise. You have a lot of responsibility, but you're not alone. Everyone's there for you."

Fate looked at her friends' earnest brown eyes and nodded.

"Thank you... Nanoha-chan..."

They sat there for some time, drawing on each other's strength.

* * *

"Good morning." Nanoha said quietly to her class as she stood before them. Each of the students wore a barrier jacket with a shielding amulet sewn into the right breast opposite the T/SAB Training Corps emblem on the left. "I am glad to see that you received my messages before this session. I have decided that a demonstration of actual combat may give benefit to those of you who lack confidence." 

"S-so... does that mean we'll be fighting for... for real?" Pai'na asked, stammering at the idea. "Is.. is that why the armour..?"

"Close, Arachne-san, but not quite. First, a history lesson. I am certain that you have heard most of it before, but it has bearing so please, humour me." Takamachi smiled at her class, and two of the enforcer cadets grinned back. Raponji just looked disgusted as usual. Fighting the urge to roll her eyes at the twenty-one year old, Nanoha continued.

"Almost eight years ago, a student archaeologist discovered several Lost Logia artefacts known as Jewel Seeds. However, while the Jewel Seeds were being transported there was an accident and the transport was thrown out of hyperspace and crashed on a small planet with no prior contact. The archaeologist attempted to contain the unstable Logia, but failed. In his weakened state, all he could do was teach, and so he called out for help. The only person who was within range to hear him, however, was an eight-year-old girl. She wasn't very studious, but she had good grades at school. She didn't know what she wanted to do with her life, and she didn't think of herself as a particularly brave person." Nanoha paused to let it sink in. The story was, of course, her own.

"Despite this, she learned everything the archaeologist could teach her. Though times were hard for the girl, she practiced at every moment she could until eventually all the Jewel Seeds had been sealed. Six months later, further events happened that took that girl and earned her the name of White Demon of the Administration Bureau."

Again, she paused as the room digested the second half of the story. Yes, it had been rather more complicated than that, and in the end she had had help, but those parts of the story would not enhance its message.

"The White Demon... Takamachi Nanoha." Fate's near-silent voice came from behind the group, and almost as one they turned to look at the blonde. Like them, she was wearing full armour. In Fate's case, her Barrier Jacket in Lightning form. Bardiche was held loosely in her hand in Device mode. The only mode, one enforcer had joked, that the device actually looked like a Bardiche.

"A child in grade school, who became one of the Bureaux's most powerful mages. Instructor Takamachi tells me that you are slacking," she gestured to Raponji, who purpled, and Gray who shrugged. "Or having trouble forcing your power to flow." she looked at LaFay and o'Shee, then Arachne and Duchovni. "Or to do what you want it to do." She walked towards the line, and they were forced to part to let her through. The cadets turned to watch her as she stood beside Nanoha. "This is not insurmountable." she declared. "Communications Cadet, am I supposed to believe that a little girl can do better than you? Infiltration Cadet, are you not willing to do anything to protect those you care about?" Through her whole speech, Fate had not raised her voice one iota above its usual murmur. Because of that, her voice sounded almost disappointed, and certainly not angry.

"If you don't believe that we are telling the truth, will you please believe that you can do as well? Each of you has the potential to be great, but you each hold yourselves back..." Nanoha spoke earnestly. "Today's lesson will begin with a demonstration of high-powered magical combat. Each of you will see what you must be prepared for in your missions for the Bureau, or in case the defences are breached." She took the red gem from around her neck and held it in her hand, sending a spark of willpower into it. The gem glowed, before changing into Raging Heart's Device Mode. "Please activate your shields. Raging Heart, Shooting Mode, Set Up." As the staff reconfigured, the students touched their shield amulets, erecting small barriers over themselves.

"Bardiche. Scythe Mode. Set Up." Fate intoned, and the axe blade lifted to allow the energy blade to spring into existence.

"Aegis system Set Up. Seal chamber. Prepare for high-powered combat. Aegis Shield, Demonstration Mode, Set Up." Nanoha commanded finally, and the room sprang to life, runes flaring as the barriers and shields activated to seal the room.

"Stand By." The soft male voice intoned. Even through their personal shields, the students felt the wards going up around them. "Ready."

"Flier Fin." Raging Heart acknowledged as Nanoha rose into the air.

"Divine Buster." The moment the mage was in the air, she charged and fired her first shot at Fate.

"Defencer." Bardiche's mechanical voice intoned, and the basic shield deflected the attack away. "Photon Lancer." Balls of energy sprung into being around Fate, who rose into the air and gestured.

"Fire!" she commanded, and the globes became darts flying towards her adversary.

"Flash Move." Raging Heart's dulcet tones remarked, and her wielder vanished...

"That's not too impressive.." Gram Raponji muttered to himself as he watched.

"That magic is powerful..." Morgan told him, daring to speak up in the older man's presence for the first time. "You can't feel it properly because of the shields..."

Above them, the two sixteen-year-olds continued to move back and forth, getting faster and trickier with each passing minute. Watching them, Pai'na was reminded why she had applied to join the bureau. To be like her hero, Takamachi Nanoha... the one who had destroyed the book that had taken her grandpapa and grandmamma from her... so that some day, she might find the other book... the one that would tell her how to get her parents back...

For the three prospective enforcers, the battle was sheer gun porn. Of the three, only o'Shee realised that it would be many years before they could hope to match the two blurs, black and white, that danced above them.

"Look out!" Dana Anderson yelled as a stray blast from Divine Buster Barrage sped towards Raponji. Before he had a chance to react, it had struck his shield and nearly blown it out. A pause in the battle above assured the two full operatives that Raponji was unharmed, if surprised, and they continued.

"Impossible..." Gram muttered as he recovered his presence of mind. He'd been watching, and he _knew_ that these little girls couldn't possible have the amounts of power that he'd just been hit with. Born and raised on Midchilda, Gram Raponji had been fourteen when the Book of Darkness had been sealed. He remembered the pit gladiators fighting in the arena, the feel of their power from the stands. Those had been real men, he'd thought, with glistening muscles and handsome jaws and names like Crusher and Unbreakable. Real fighters.

The child he had been disgusted to find was the hero Takamachi Nanoha, the White Devil of the Administration Bureau, had just hit him with more power than any of those arena fighters could have hoped to attain in a century.

"Wipe that smug smile off your face, LaFay." He growled at the bookish lad next to him, who guiltily turned back to the fight and pretended nothing had happened.

"Hey... what's that weird feeling..?" Fox Anderson asked, looking at his sister. She shrugged, frowning, and turned her eyes back to the fight.

"I think it's..." Pai'na started, uncertain, feeling the fear rising up in her. Yes... it was the same feeling from just before...

* * *

"Ah, Commander Limietter..?" One of the men cleaning the Asura's bridge spoke up, uncertain, from where he was near her station. 

"Yes? What is it?" The commander, overseeing the operation for the moment, moved over to him.

"Something on your console is blinking..." The cleaner told her. "I don't know what it means, but..."

"Wha?!" Amy exclaimed when she saw the console. "No, that's impossible... from inside the HQ?!" She knocked a bucket full of cleaning fluid flying in her rush to sit down. Unseen to her, the caustic industrial-strength cleaner seeped into the consoles, ruining several vital navigational systems and frying the comms. circuit.

"What is it, Commander..?" The cleaner asked, curious.

"A dimensional disturbance... from the training sector..." the diviner muttered, sinking back into her chair and watching helplessly as some of the readings went off the scale. "Nanoha-chan... Fate-chan..."

"That's bad, right?" The cleaner asked.

* * *

"Oh no..." Nanoha muttered, and Fate's eyes widened at the same moment. Nanoha had just parried Bardiche with Raging Heart again, and the two weapons were pressed against each other as their power strained. "Everybody, get down!" she just had time to yell at the students before a globe of crackling energy expanded from where the jewels of the two weapons touched, frying the wards as it touched them and blowing out each student's personal shield, temporarily blinding them. 

When Raponji could see again, the room was in darkness. Smoke drifted here and there... and there was no sign of either Takamachi Nanoha or Fate Testarossa.


	2. Koko wa?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the worlds in this fic, or anything else portrayed. I did create the villains and story, though. I guess that means they're free for the taking, but if you do, just let me know if you would. Maho Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha and Maho Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's were produced by Ivory and Seven Arcs. Sailor Moon and its sequels were written by Naoko Takeuchi, and published by Japonica Polonica Fantastica (JPF). The 'Grid' mentioned multiple times in this chapter is my own interpretation of an old idea - it is what Midchilda mages call the ambient magic of an area. A kind of magical 'background noise' that can be drawn on to cast spells. Without using the grid, the energy must come either from the mage herself, (being insanely draining) or another source, such as a cartridge. In the alternate reality of MirrorS, the Linker Core is what allows a mage to form the 'link' between their personal magic and the ambient background magic.

* * *

**Chapter 2 - 'This place is...'**

03.20, 12th June, Tokyo city, Earth.

Everything was darkness, and they were falling. She could see Fate beside her, upside down. For a moment she feared the worst, but then the blonde opened her eyes and righted herself. Nanoha looked up and saw the light of the teaching room, the last few seconds from another's' point of view and tried to fly towards it. As though in a nightmare, she couldn't. She was flying as hard as she could towards that light, but it would come no closer...

"Nanoha-chan..." Fate's whisper sounded concerned, and Nanoha looked at her, and then looked down. At last, coming towards them she saw it. A sphere, blue and green and so like earth... Then pain, blinding and crushing from every direction. Magical barriers set against them from before the dawn of time. Almost without conscious thought, Nanoha forced Raging Heart around. Through threatening blindness, she saw Fate do the same with Bardiche, and then there was nothing but the sound of cartridges firing and someone screaming spells.

Nanoha groaned in pain as she awoke, her eyes cracking open to stare at a dark sky framed by giants. Her body felt like one huge bruise... the giants resolved themselves into skyscrapers, and she realised that she was lying on her back in her civilian clothes on top of a pile of rubbish bags. Groggily, she got to her feet and stood on the floor of the alleyway, looking around. Fate was standing at the entrance to the alleyway, holding something close to her face and staring at the street.

"Fate-chan, are you..?" Nanoha's voice croaked as she asked, moving up to stand just behind the other girl.

"I'll live... but... Bardiche... and... I don't know where we are."

"What's wrong with Bardiche..?" Nanoha asked, taking out Raging Heart and looking at it as she realised it was back on its cord around her neck.

By way of reply, Fate showed her the triangular device. The display on the back of the raised section displayed the same message that was flashing in sequence on Raging Heart's curved surface.

No Connection to Local Grid.

Please Load Cartridge to Initialise.

"But.. that's not possible." Nanoha stammered as she reread the blinking message. "The devices are connected to the grid through our linker cores... the only way something like this could happen is if something happened to the cores... but a total loss like this would mean..."

"The cores were destroyed. Which would mean we were dead." Fate declared the logical conclusion with solemn quiet. "Or the rules are different here. For now, we must assume that we can only activate our devices by using cartridges."

"But in a populated area... with no barriers... we need to move. Find out where we are and find some way to send a signal. Can you contact Arf?"

"No.." Fate shook her head. "Nothing. If I used cartridges to boost, maybe, but... I only have three loads left. Nineteen cartridges."

"I've got twenty cartridges... two boxes. I see... you don't want to risk wasting them since we might need them... we need a safe haven where we can make more, and materials... do you have empties?"

"Yes... but... only five." Fate told her. It was the one advantage of Bardiche's revolver-style cartridge store. Unlike the box-and-slide mechanism of Raging Heart, Bardiche stored the empty cartridges in their slots until the whole magazine was ejected.

"It'll have to be enough." Nanoha decided. "We need to look around. I don't think there will be many people around, it feels pretty late here."

Fate just nodded, and the two girls moved out into the streets. Shops were shut on all sides, advertising all kinds of goods. As they reached the corner of the block, Nanoha looked around and up, then blinked.

"No way... that would be too much..." she mumbled as she stared at the giant triangular structure in the distance. Lit up at night, the tower was instantly recognisable. "Tokyo. We're that close..." she looked along the street in the other direction and saw the bay with the brightly lit Rainbow Bridge in the distance. "That would make this... Odaiba..."

"Nanoha-chan?" Fate asked, mystified. Her companion was gawking like a tourist suddenly. "Do you know where we are..?"

"Tokyo city. We're in Tokyo. It's an hour away from Uminari on the shinkansen... one of the biggest cities in Japan." the girl told her, and she nodded.

"I see. That is good, then. We cannot be sure that Uminari is in this world, however..." Fate reminded her, then paused. "Nanoha-chan... what do you think happened to your students? Do you think they're alright..?"

"I saw them... when we were falling. I think they're still in the room, or were when we landed. I hope so..." she trailed off. Fate opened her mouth to say something, but paused. She had the strangest feeling... like she was being watched.

* * *

In a nearby alleyway, their watcher pulled back, worried that he'd been spotted. He'd felt the power of their arrival from home, and since his partner was long asleep for a change he had decided to investigate alone. He sat down in the alley and contemplated what he'd seen. 

Two girls, the same age as his partner, wandering around like they were lost. He didn't _think_ they were enemies, but the monster attacks had gotten more frequent recently than the usual background chatter of survivors. One with long, blonde hair cascading down her back and tied with a ribbon at the end who wore a black shirt and white slacks, and the other with brown hair - almost as long, but tied in a single tail mysteriously hanging from the side of her head. She wore a grey sweatshirt, about a size too big, and a knee-length skirt. Ordinary clothes... but these were definitely the two. They had a strange power, shrouded from him somehow...

* * *

"Fate-chan... are you alright?" It was Nanoha's turn to ask as the blonde looked around, suspiciously. 

"I.. yes. I just felt like we were being watched. It's probably nothing." Fate smiled at her. "I don't think we're going to find anything wandering around in the middle of the night. We need to wait until morning... this is a possibly hostile environment, and we need to adapt as soon as possible."

"You're right. Sorry, I've just been at headquarters so long... I'd forgotten what it's like to be in the field."

"It's fine. I'm here." Fate took Nanoha's hand and squeezed it, smiling. After a moment, Nanoha squeezed back.

Dawn found them still awake, sitting on a bench in one of the few parks in Tokyo. This one overlooked something called the Infinity Institute which appeared to be some kind of school. Nanoha was starting to feel fatigue set in. Soon, the park started to come into use as early risers walked dogs or took morning runs. A moment later, Fate's stomach rumbled.

"Fate-chan... do you have any money?" Nanoha asked, searching her own clothing for her purse. Well, most people would probably call it a wallet, since it was in that style, but she couldn't find it anyway. She must have left it in her quarters back at base.

"Nothing..." her friend replied, her own search having come up equally stumped. "Some Midchilda Rains, but other than that..." The Rain was the standard unit of currency on Midchilda, as well as being nominally the currency Bureau agents were paid in. It was, of course, completely valueless in Japan, Earth.

"We need food, and drink. Without money, that means either stealing or trickery..." Fate murmured, thoughtfully. "I'm not good at illusions..."

"We can't anyway... It's not just Raging Heart and Bardiche... I can't find the grid either... which means that must be the problem..." Nanoha sighed and looked down at the ground. A moment later, Fate looked up at the sky, shading her eyes with the back of her hand as though the answers were there.

"Hey, you look kind of rough. Are you girls alright?" A man's voice asked from nearby, and both mages looked at him. A redhead, he was wearing a uniform similar to those of several other students moving around the park. One shoulder sported a sideways eight - the universal symbol for infinity.

"Well..." Nanoha started, "Actually... we're lost, and we don't have any money..."

As though to emphasise her point, her stomach rumbled again, causing the man to chuckle.

"A couple of strays, huh? I'm called Ferry. I was meant to be meeting my sister here, but she'll understand. I'll buy you some breakfast, but I've got college today so..."

"Thank you." Fate whispered, standing. Since she still had Nanoha's hand in hers, this pulled the other girl up with her. When Ferry saw, he grinned.

"Ah, like that is it? You're runaways?" he smiled, his voice friendly. There wasn't any malice in the comment, but Nanoha took her hand back quickly and clasped it with her other one even as Fate looked away and blushed. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me." He held up his hands in surrender. "Still, I'll buy you breakfast and give you a train fare, but I think you should go home and try to make it work with your families."

Briefly, Nanoha thought of her elder siblings and their constantly uncertain relationship with each other and fought down a blush of her own before nodding.

"Thank you, Ferry, but... I don't know. I don't like to accept charity... I'm Nanoha."

"Nonsense. I have enough of it. Come on, there's a coffee shop nearby that does good breakfasts. I was going there anyway, so it's not a problem."

"Thank you..." Fate whispered again. "My name is Fate, and we will accept your help..."

As they walked together, Ferry made light conversation and both girls couldn't help but like him. At one point, he was telling them a story and capering around to try and show them and had both girls giggling into their hands. He looked so ridiculous in his dignified school uniform prancing around like some kind of mountebank.

As they left the park, he calmed down some and walked beside them until they arrived at the small coffee shop. In some ways, its similarity to Midoriya was almost painful, and Nanoha paused on the threshold as she realised that there was a chance that, like AlHazard, they might never get back. Dimensional Disturbances had an even higher tragedy rate than Lost Logia.

"Are you alright?" Ferry asked, and she shook herself off and nodded.

"It's nothing. Just a faint moment." Nanoha smiled at him and he nodded.

"All the more reason to get some food into you. Find somewhere to sit, I'll join you in a moment." he moved towards the counter, and the girls looked at each other before sitting at a table in the corner with three seats. They took the two closer to the wall, letting them see the room properly.

"Can we trust him..? He seems too good to be true..." Nanoha asked, and Fate looked at her surprised. Usually it was her who suspected people, Nanoha accepting everyone as they were.

"We have to. It's only for a little, so..."

If she was going to say any more, it was cut off as Ferry came back with a tray laden with plates. Three of them, in fact, with full European-style breakfasts.

"Sorry if it's not what you like, but it's what they do here... I'm from England, so they're what I'm used to." he told them, conciliatory.

"It's very generous of you..." Nanoha smiled at him. As he started to eat, the mages both muttered quick prayers before settling in. The greasy food was almost too rich on their empty stomachs, but even so it was all gone in short order. A waitress cam over with another tray, this one laden with coffee, and took the plates away as Ferry thanked her. He was clearly a regular at the small shop.

"I have to go soon for college, but before I do... here." He pushed some money over the table to them with a smile. "There should be enough there for a ticket home, wherever that might be for you. No, don't tell me." He said as Nanoha opened her mouth. "It's enough that I could help a couple of innocent waifs. The gentlemanly thing to do. If you see my sister, though, don't tell her. She'll be convinced you conned me into it!" he grinned to show he was joking and stood up. "Seriously though, this is where I'm staying. If you need help, don't hesitate." He wrote something on a napkin and gave it to Fate, who smiled and folded it into her pocket. "I'll see you around, maybe, if you're in the area again."

Then he was gone, waving as he walked out of the small coffee shop. Nanoha took the money and folded it into her skirt pocket before doing up the zip.

"He is... strange." Fate conceded after a moment, and Nanoha nodded.

"But good, I think. We shouldn't impinge though... even though he offered. It doesn't feel right."

"There's something..." Fate began, but stopped, uncertain. "No... it's probably just interference from my Core..."

"It is odd... I feel dislocated. Like something's wrong. Missing. I didn't realise how much I was relying on my magic for awareness... now I just feel weird." Nanoha mused, before standing suddenly. "Well, we won't figure out how to send a message to the Bureau sitting here all day. I don't think this world is awakened, magically speaking, so... we'll have to use cartridges to boost the signal."

Fate nodded, starting to stand, when suddenly there was an explosion outside and several screams. The mages looked at each other for a moment before sprinting outside.

The street had become a scene of chaos. A car was overturned and burning - the explosion had been the petrol tank going up. People were moving away from the cause quickly, abandoning cars in their haste to run. A moment later, Nanoha saw why.

In the middle of the road, holding a salary man by his head was a twelve foot tall ape-like monster. Mostly formless, it seemed to be made out of some kind of grey putty. The claws on its elongated fingers looked sharp enough, though, and the rift in its neckless head looked vaguely mouthlike. Two red glowing orbs stood in for eyes, set above the rent that might have been a nasal cavity.

"What IS that thing?!" Nanoha yelled, shocked. She'd never seen anything like it. Neither had Fate, but that didn't matter.

"I don't know, but we have to stop it. Bardiche, Auxiliary Power mode, Set Up." she said all in the same level voice, plucking the triangular device and a cartridge from her pocket and holding them together. Momentarily, she wished for an S2U storage device, but beggars can't be choosers and her Bardiche _was_ much more powerful than those units. A moment later, her barrier jacket settled around her and she held the weapon in her hand.

"Raging Heart... please!" Nanoha intoned a moment later, the gem held in her hand. She let it roll to the edge of her fingers and palmed a cartridge, bringing the two into contact and waiting while the device activated.

"Aux Power Set." Bardiche informed Fate, even as Raging Heart told Nanoha;

"Auxiliary Power Mode Ready. Lets do it, my master."

"Right!" Nanoha clipped the box magazine into place.

"Reload." Raging Heart intoned. "Lets shoot it. Axel Buster."

Even as Nanoha gave the command, Fate dashed forward, activating Haken form to deliver a deadly slash... to where the monster had been. Despite her speed, the monster had jumped over the attack to land on an abandoned taxi, crushing the roof in. A moment later, Nanoha's blast swept through that space as, with ponderous agility, the large monster rolled sideways to throw a sweeping punch that knocked the mage flying into a wall. She felt the impact, but her barrier jacket held even as the wall cracked behind her. Blearily, she saw the monster turn away to approach Fate, who stood with Bardiche held defensively, scythe ignited. She was forced to lower the weapon as the monster threw the still living, if badly injured, salary man at her however, and as the monster followed the attack with its own bulk she rolled out from under the unconscious man and brought the scythe up again, knowing it would be too late...


	3. Friend or Foe?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the worlds in this fic, or anything else portrayed. I did create the villains and story, though. They're not really worth taking, but if you do, just let me know if you would. Maho Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha and Maho Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's were produced by Ivory and Seven Arcs. Sailor Moon and its sequels were written by Naoko Takeuchi, and published by Japonica Polonica Fantastica (JPF).

* * *

**Chapter 3 - 'Friend or Foe?'**

08.00, 12th June, Infinity District, Tokyo, Earth.

"Venus Love Chain Encircle!" A strong, female voice cried and before Fate had a chance to react, the monster was bound at every limb with glowing golden chains not dissimilar to Arf's Binding spell. "Now!" the voice continued, and Fate nodded - mostly to herself, since she couldn't see the other spellcaster - and leapt forward, bringing her scythe around.

"Haken Slash." Bardiche intoned, burning another cartridge as the blade cut through monster flesh and golden chain alike, shattering both. The monster roared in pain before seeming to stretch in every direction and flickering. It disappeared a moment later.

Nanoha stood, using Raging Heart as a crutch as she moved to stand by Fate, and the two mages looked at their saviour.

"Thank you..." Fate murmured to her as she moved closer, noting her hostile stance and keeping Bardiche ready beside her. The blade had faded with the end of its perceived need, but it could be summoned again with the residual energy from the cartridge. As she examined the girl who approached, she reloaded and put the dead cylinder into a storage pocket. "Whom do we address?"

"Sailor Venus, Sailor-suited soldier of love and justice, protected by the planet Venus. Who are you?" The woman's voice was somewhat guarded, as though uncertain what to make of the two girls in front of her. Sailor Venus wore a white bodysuit with an orange bow on the breast, held on by a blue brooch. An orange skirt hung around her hips, though like Fate's it was more a fashion statement than for modesty. Her gloves reached up to her elbows, and held no Device that Fate could see. That didn't mean anything though, since Yuuno also cast without a Device. Her high-heeled shoes looked impractical, but she moved as though she hardly noticed them as she stepped to stand a few feet away. Finally, her shoulders were covered by a sailor's scarf the same colour as her skirt.

"Fate Testarossa, Special Enforcer Triple-A class mage of the Time and Space Administration Bureau." Fate paused, then indicated Nanoha. "This is Lieutenant Takamachi Nanoha, Combat Instructor and Triple-A Class Mage of the same." Nanoha bowed from the waist, and a moment later Fate mimicked her.

"What brings you to Tokyo, Fate Testarossa and Takamachi Nanoha?" Venus bowed back automatically, though perhaps not as deeply.

"An accident," Nanoha began, but Venus held up a hand and touched her earring. After a moment, she frowned.

"I must consult with my team. I leave you with a warning. This city is under the protection of the Sailor Senshi. Anybody who threatens it must answer to us." Her final words echoing, Venus turned and jumped to the top of a nearby building.

Nanoha and Fate looked at each other before dismissing their Barrier Jackets and Devices.

"We should go before the police arrive." Nanoha muttered, and Fate nodded as she looked at the debris. With no sign of the monster, it would likely be put down to terrorists. Together, the two girls left at a swift pace, wishing they dared use more cartridges to fly.

* * *

Nearby, Aino Minako walked towards school, listening to the tomcat in her arms.

"I mean it Mina, those two could be trouble. We still don't know why the monsters are acting up, and they appeared out of nowhere. We don't know who they really are, or anything about this Bureau they mentioned..."

"Don't be such a worry-wart, Artemis! We'll ask Ami after school, okay?"

"Alright, but I still don't like just leaving them to wander around all day." The cat grumbled, before jumping out of his nominal mistress' arms. "Take care. I'm going to keep an eye on them."

"Whatever you say. Take care, Artie." Mina grinned at the cat as he walked off, tail in the air as though he were a normal cat. The disguised Senshi of Love hid the concern she felt for the guardian in her cheerfulness, but the truth was she was worried as well. She didn't recognise the energy the two girls had been using, and even though the monster had nearly downed one of them and been about to chomp the other, the way the white-cloaked blonde had taken out the monster once it was holding still frankly scared her. Sighing, she shook her head before starting and breaking into a run as she heard the school bell intoning ahead of her.

* * *

16.30, 12th June, Juuban High gates, Juuban District, Tokyo, Earth.

"Aww, come on Ami-chan! You know I can't do this stuff! Please?" Tsukino Usagi wheedled to her friend as they left the school building.

"Usagi-chan, you know I won't do your homework for you. Of course I'll help, but you have to do the work." Mizuno Ami told her firmly and prayed that she wouldn't recognise the blonde blur moving towards them.

"Come on, Usagi-chan, you know it's hopeless. If I have to do it, so do you. Besides, it's only Phi, how hard could it be?" Kino Makoto grinned to deflect the black look the shorter Senshi of the moon gave her.

"Oh! Isn't that..?" Usagi had seen the blonde running through the crowds, and moved to meet her. "Minako-chan! What's wrong?" Hey, are you okay?" She peered closer as the honey-blonde rested her hands on her knees as she fought to catch her breath.

"You're out of shape, Minako-chan!" Makoto told her, disapprovingly, and got a fringe-obscured glare in return.

"Wear... your bloody... communicators..." Venus gasped as she finally managed to straighten. "I just ran all the way here from school to catch you before you split up. We need to call a meeting. I contacted Rei, she'll meet us at the shrine..."

"What's wrong?" Makoto asked, frowning and looking around. She drew them into an alleyway where they could talk without being overheard. "Is it a new enemy?"

"Maybe. Artemis called me to the bay this morning..." Mina began, but stopped to let Ami speak.

"The death busters again? We destroyed them..." the genius thought aloud, but Minako shook her head.

"Maybe, but I don't think so. This thing looked a bit like a daimon, but Artie told me it crawled out of the sewer. That's not all though." She paused until she was sure she had their attention. "There were two girls there, about our age. They were fighting it with some kind of technology-based magic."

"That's strange... I'll have to check my computer and quiz the guardians." Ami murmured, her mind already on track.

"We should wait until we're with Rei... maybe the Outers might know something?" Makoto frowned. Those girls worried her. If they were enemies, it could be bad.

"Mako-chan? Earth to Makoto." Minako was waving her hand in front of the tall brunette's face, and the martial artist blinked and mentally reprimanded herself. "We're going." Mina finished, and Maki nodded before following them.

Hino Rei met them at the foot of the shrine steps, already changed into her Hakama and tapping a bamboo broom on her shoulder impatiently. The taciturn priestess growled a mock-angry greeting at them as they approached, then led them up the many steps to the shrine.

At the top, she started sweeping. At this time of the afternoon on a Tuesday, there weren't many visitors to the shrine so it was safe to talk in the courtyard.

"So you're saying that the one with the scythe destroyed the monster in one hit after you bound it with your chain?" Rei asked, frowning as Minako finished her report.

"Yeah, and I don't know if I'll be able to use the chain for a while, either. Some kind of feedback when she shattered the links. It's almost like her weapon attacked the power of Venus itself. What's even more confusing is that according to Artemis, they just transformed right there in the middle of the street, like they didn't care if someone saw them."

"Transformed? Do you mean like Senshi?" Ami picked up on the phrase like a dog with a bone.

"Not quite." The new voice answered the question as Artemis flowed out of the bushes. "Luna's watching them now, since I heard Mina's message," he elucidated to answer Mina's questioning look. "It was more like they were putting armour on. There wasn't any glamour to hide their identities like the Senshi have, and they didn't seem to get any stronger or faster. Just tougher. When I saw the staff-wielding one thrown into that wall, I thought she was a goner for sure."

"Who did you say they claimed to be?" Ami asked while Rei coerced Usagi to pay attention.

"Mages from the Time and Space Administration Bureau. An operative and a combat instructor..."

"That's a strange pair to be sent out anywhere. Did they say why, or make any attempt to say who this Bureau are?"

"Not before I had to remind Mina about school." Artemis told her, sheepishly. He supposed it was the one disadvantage of a Sentai team in high school. Apart from the maturity level, he sighed to himself as he watched Hino chasing Tsukino around the yard to get her broom back.

"Actually... the one with the staff. Nanoha. She said it was an accident." Minako broke into his train of thought. "And the other one... Fate. That's English, isn't it..?"

"Fate. Yes... it means fate. Destiny, if you want. It's a strange thing to have as a name..." Ami mused. "Fate Testarossa. The family name sounds Spanish, maybe. Who is she, though... I'll run a search, see if I can pick up any leads on the 'net. Nanoha's a Japanese name, though, so it should be easier to pick up. I'll search Takamachi while I'm at it."

"Thanks, Ami-chan" Usagi broke the train of thought, having finally relented the broom, before the reticent genius could finish the transfer into her own world.

"One of the cats should follow them, too," Minako decided. "I think we should ask the Outers if they know anything."

"Uhuh." Rei vetoed the idea as she resumed sweeping. "They have enough of their own problems, and if this is one of them they'll show up anyway since it'd have to come past them. I'll ask Phobos and Deimos to keep their eyes open though. They can be unobtrusive even where someone might notice a cat following them, since there's crows all over the city."

"I've got an idea." Makoto said suddenly. She'd been quiet up to now, so this was clearly the culmination of a long train of thought. "Instead of trying to follow them everywhere, why don't we put them where we can see them? You said they were wandering around and ended up on a park bench, right?" She looked at Artemis, who made an affirmative sound. "Well, I could offer them a place to stay for a while."

"No good. You can't be there the whole time, you've got school." Minako's turn to refute an idea. "Besides, how would we stop them figuring out your identity?"

"We could have them here, though." Rei pointed out. "We have the odd lodger, and Yuuichiro never figured it out. I can ask grandpa to keep an eye on them, as well as the birds. I'd just be like..."

"Peter Parker to Spider-man?" Minako interrupted the miko with a grin. "The ordinary friend to the superhero?"

The comment fell flat as no-one else got the reference.

"... what, none of you ever read American comics?" The blonde pouted. "Spoilsports. Spider-man is Peter Parker's superhero alias. Peter makes his living selling photos of Spider-man, which he says he gets because Spider-man tells him where he's going to be."

"Er... I suppose so..." Rei muttered, uncertain. She _hated_ being shown up. "It's getting late. Should we go and find them now, or..?"

Usagi's, Ami's and Minako's phones went off simultaneously. Usagi and Minako's families both wanted to know where the hell they were, and why weren't they home yet. Ami's mother was actually home early for a change and wanted to eat a meal with her daughter while she had the chance.

"I guess that answers that question..." Makoto chuckled once the phones had been put away. "Tomorrow's Wednesday, right? That's a good opportunity, since we're off school."

"I'm not, so you'll have to deal with my grandfather..." Rei pointed out. Sometimes she hated the strict catholic school her grandfather had gotten her into. Never mind that it was the best school academically in the area.

"I'm sure he'll come around." Makoto remarked dryly as the old priest dashed out of the shrine office to meet a pair of high-school girls as they came up the steps.

"I had better be going... we'll meet at the bus station tomorrow morning?" Ami asked, and Minako nodded.

"I'll see you there." she told the blue-haired girl, who then started walking down the steps.

It was only when she was halfway down that Usagi remembered their Phi assignment and started running to catch up.

"Ami-chan, waaaiitt!"


	4. Conflicting Forces

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the worlds in this fic, or anything else portrayed. I did create the villains and story, though. They're not really worth taking, but if you do, just let me know if you would. Maho Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha and Maho Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's were produced by Ivory and Seven Arcs. Sailor Moon and its sequels were written by Naoko Takeuchi, and published by Japonica Polonica Fantastica (JPF).

* * *

**Chapter 4 - 'Conflicting Forces'**

07.50, 13th June, Infinity District, Tokyo, Earth.

Nanoha groaned as she sat up, for a moment wondering why her bed was so hard before remembering...

Rather than being safe at home or in her quarters at the Bureau HQ, she was sleeping on a bench in a bus shelter in the bay district of Tokyo. Since the blonde girl had rescued them yesterday, there had been no sign of the mysterious Sailor Senshi, or any more monsters. Perhaps fortunately, they hadn't encountered the redhead, Ferry, again either. In the end, they'd gone to sleep in the bus shelter from sheer exhaustion.

Looking across at Fate, still asleep curled up on her cloak and looking innocent and peaceful for one of the few times in her short life, it was hard to reconcile the peaceful blonde with the tough woman who had become a pillar of strength over the past two days.

'_She must be under a lot of stress..._' Nanoha thought to herself, and smiled guiltily. It was nice to be the one protected for a change.

Everyone else relied on her the whole time. Her mother and father wanted her to come back and take over the coffee shop, her siblings wanted their little sister to stay that way. Her peers at work needed her as the hero who could knock some sense into wayward students, her students needed her to be strong and show them the way. People lived or died on what she could teach them.

Even her friends needed her to be the strong one, the level-headed mediator who could balance everything and bring people together. It was with a certain amount of glumness that she realised it had taken a dimensional dislocation that put everyone's life at risk to actually give her a holiday.

Suddenly, Fate opened her eyes and looked at her. Nanoha saw the truth reflected there... it was the same for her, those beautiful, sad crimson orbs usually so clouded holding some measure of relief in their new situation.

"Good morning." Nanoha smiled, and the blonde nodded back. "We should find something to eat... The money Ferry gave us is almost gone."

"I'm not hungry..." Fate murmured, rubbing her eye with the back of her hand and yawning like a cat.

"You should eat anyway. You'll need the energy if another one of those monsters shows up." Nanoha knew her friend was lying to help her, but didn't feel like calling her on it.

"... alright..." Fate said after a moment, and sat up, her white cloak finally fading to where the rest of her barrier jacket was stored. It didn't take a lot of energy to maintain the jackets when they weren't under attack, but it still needed some. Keeping the cloak had been deemed necessary considering how cold the nights could get, especially with Fate in shirtsleeves.

Nanoha bestirred herself, and together they went to find somewhere they could get breakfast for under 200¥.

* * *

10.30, 13th June, Juuban District, Tokyo, Earth

"So Ami-chan, what do you think they're like?" Aino Minako asked the blue-haired Senshi as they sat in the Mizuno's flat. It was just the two of them at the moment, since Usagi was doing something with her parents and Makoto preferred doing it the old-fashioned way, prowling the streets.

"The 'mages'? I don't know..." Ami was chewing her glasses as she watched the screen. She'd plugged her Mercury computer into the larger desktop unit to take advantage of the bigger monitor's size and was repeatedly scanning the city for traces of the mysterious energy the foreign magical girls were using. They'd already tried scanning for life-forms with alternate physiology and failed, so it was safe to assume that the mages were human. "Probably... just regular girls. Or maybe more like us..."

"What do you mean?" Mina asked, her boredom-induced question suddenly taking on real meaning.

"Well... they're human as far as I can tell... so they might have awoken like we did... so they had an ordinary life. I can't say for sure without meeting them, of course..."

"Yeah, of course, of course. But you reckon they might be normal? That sounds wierd." Before they could continue the discussion, however, Mina's phone rang. "Gah.."

Ami waited until she'd finished the short discussion before asking what was wrong.

"I'm being summoned." She rolled her eyes. "My aunt's coming down from Hokkaido for a few days and they want my help tidying the house."

"Ah... go on, then. I can watch these on my own... and you should stay on good terms with your parents."

"But they're so _annoying_ sometimes..."

"I know." Ami smiled.

* * *

12.20, 13th June, Infinity District, Tokyo, Earth.

"Why are you doing this?!" Nanoha asked as she ducked a blast of power from the honey-blonde woman standing on a car nearby.

"You would never understand. Give up and surrender your energy, little girl." The woman told her, voice colder than ice. "You cannot win alone."

"Who are you? Why do you have to hurt these people?" Nanoha asked, even as Raging Heart intoned the prep phrase for Axel Buster.

"My name is Aventurine, and for Lady Lithium's sake, this task is something I must complete! It doesn't matter how many of these copy-people I have to kill." Almost as if she'd foreseen the blast, Aventurine moved just enough to not get caught then used the body of the car to shield her from the returning tracers.

Meanwhile, Fate jumped and ran and deflected attacks with her scythe, searching for an opening to attack the monster she was fighting. This one was slightly more coherent than the first, and certainly more skilled if a little slower.

"You can fight like this, so you must have a mind... please, stop. Why?" She asked the creature, but a growl was her only response as it struck again with one mantis-like limb. Fate brought Bardiche up to block the attack, and to her surprise the scythe-blade sliced the arm in half as it descended, the two halves of the limb spearing into the ground either side of her. Quickly, she twisted her weapon to sever the limb completely before jumping away to avoid the follow-up.

Bellowing in pain, the monster lashed out with its' other limb, a large, fanlike club. Fate ducked to avoid it, but even so the huge arm smashed into her guard and knocked her across the street and into a tramcar.

"Barrier Jacket Failure. Restoring." Bardiche intoned, and the black mage groaned as she tried to stand against the pain in her back. The tram and her armour had taken most of the force, but she was down to her undersuit in terms of defensive ability and her back felt like one huge bruise.

Leaning on Bardiche, she could do nothing but watch wide-eyed as the monster launched itself at the unawares Nanoha, still trying to reason with their honey-tressed foe.

"Ax de demon guerre." Though Fate didn't understand the foreign words, their meaning was clear enough as the dark-haired woman who uttered them unleashed a bladelike wave of blue power from her two-handed axe. The woman followed the attack a moment later as she landed heavily in the middle of the road, facing Nanoha even as the monster stretched and faded in the aftermath of her spell.

"Battaile, where's the artefact?" she asked into thin air, and Nanoha turned to look at the new arrival. That energy... it had to be...

"La fille blanc, madame." the axe replied in a soft, yet definitely masculine tone. "Attend, la fille sable aussi."

"Two of them?" The dark-haired woman frowned, then grinned. "Great. I can collect both at once." She pointed her axe at Nanoha with a triumphant look. "My name is Henrietta de Marque, with the axe Battaille. Give me your device, Velka Knight, and I'll let you live. For now!"

"She is insane, my Master." Raging Heart would have muttered if it had had the programming to modulate its voice. As it was, everyone heard the intelligent device's comment.

"I can't do that." Nanoha told the frenchwoman. "Raging Heart is one of my friends, and I don't just give them away. I'm a little busy right now, could we maybe talk about this later?"

"No talking, if you won't give it up, just lie down and die!" Henrietta leaped forwards, bringing Bataille around and up before savagely striking at Nanoha's head...

"Protection." Raging Heart declared as it burned a cartridge to generate the dome-shaped, rough-edged shield.

"Pierce it, Burning Vengeance!" Henrietta snarled, and power flowed from the gem at the heart of Battaille's blade to cover the cutting edge before bursting into flame as her device acknowledged, "Embrase Revanche"

Under normal circumstances, Nanoha realised, she could hold against the attack almost indefinitely... Henrietta was maybe a B-class mage, in Midchilda terms... but not with Raging Heart in Auxiliary Power mode. As the cartridge was expended, the barrier flickered before fading.

"Release." Henrietta uttered, and as the blade of her axe fell to bury itself in the asfalt the magical flame wreathing it was thrown, spinning like a discus to smash into Nanoha's barrier jacket, stripping off the outer layer and destroying the ribbon that represented the light armour. Nanoha fell back to reduce the damage to the inner layers of heavy armour represented by her coat and black undershirt as the flaming disc faded, its power spent. Rolling to her feet, she brought Raging Heart up to catch the axe strike on the staff's haft.

"Why are you doing this, Henrietta-san? Why do you need my Raging Heart?" she asked as her muscles strained against those of the stronger, older woman.

"That's none of your business, little girl!" de Marque growled. "But I will have my revenge! Burning.."

Before she could finish the spell, Nanoha twisted the staff in her hands and her body at the same time, sending the overbalanced axe-wielder over her head to fly into the ground.

"I am Takamachi Nanoha, of the Time and Space Administration Bureau. Cease your attack!" Nanoha told her enemy after catching her breath.

"Bureau bitch..." Henrietta growled, and her pupils dilated suddenly as vengeful rage swept through her. "You'll pay! For all the injustice you perpetrate... Venger Mirage!" The mage leaped to her feet, charging at Nanoha with her axe, a blue glow spreading to cover her whole body. Nanoha deflected the strike with a sweep of her staff, which left her completely open to the second axe-wielding mage. The axe crashed into her barrier jacket, damaging the coat section before flickering out of existance. Nanoha managed to form a shield to block the third and fouth attacks, but the fifth shattered it and the final strike desetroyed her coat and sent her stumbling back.

Henrietta stepped towards her after her final attack, the sixth clone proving to be the original and not fading. Nanoha raised her staff and took aim, realising that if she tried to stand it would just leave her open.

"Now, die and let a little bit of faithlessness die with you." Henrietta raised her axe, eyes still mostly pupil to land the final blow even as Fate started to move to stop her...

When she stopped and rose into the air, her back arching and axe dropping from nerveless fingers as she screamed in pain. Nanoha watched aghast as her linker core rose, sparkling from her chest and started to pulse. A stream of energy rose from the core, and as Fate stopped beside her Nanoha watched as it snaked through the air... until it reached Aventurine's outstretched hand.

"What... what is this? This power..." The honey-haired beauty seemed as surprised as anyone else. "It's so strong... so deep... an eternal wellspring..."

Something - a tickling at the edge of her conciousness - made Nanoha look up. She saw the flash in the air and had just opened her mouth to issue a warning when the beam of black lightning struck Aventurine, making her jerk and twitch as she screamed. The axe-wielding mage fell to her knees, groping for her axe even as a sword-wielder landed beside her.

"Henrietta, ca va?" The blonde swordswoman asked, holding her rapier in a guard position facing the recovering Aventurine.

"Oui, Cher. C'est pas tres mal..." The axe-user staggered to her feet. "Auggh.." she groaned as she straightened, giving lie to her words.

"Retournez a la bateaux. L'artifice es..?" Cher asked, still speaking french.

"What are they saying?" Fate asked, whispering from where she stood behind Nanoha. Languages had never been her strong-point.

"The one with the sword wants Henrietta to retreat and asked where 'the artefacts' are... I think she means Raging Heart and Bardiche..." Nanoha told her, even as Henrietta told Cher that she wasn't going to run away and that the Bureaux mages had the staffs.

Aventurine recovered then and threw a blast of energy at Cher. The swordswoman deflected the attack away with her sword and started charging a return when a steam of blue power swept over both Frenchwomen, forcing them to shield. At the same time, a huge, orange sphere smashed into Aventurine, tossing her into the air.

"Leave this world and do not return. You do not belong here." A powerful voice commanded, and as the dust cleared they saw that the attacks had come from a pair of sailor-suited women. "I am Sailor Uranus, protected by the planet Uranus, planet of Wind! Outsiders from beyond the solar system, you are not permitted to be here!"

"We wish you no harm, but you threaten our world and we will not allow that. I am Sailor Neptune, protected by the planet Neptune, planet of Water." The blonde's teal-haired companion finished in her gentler voice.

"Damnit, the oppositio Senshi... I should have known." Aventurine muttered, cursing. "But what are Outers doing here now? I didn't predict this!" The diviner reached into her pocket and pulled out a small stone that glowed as she held it. "Sprite-return." She commanded, and the stone flashed brightly. When the glow faded, she was gone.

"She'll be back..." Fate whispered. "I don't think she went far..."

"Your turn. I don't know who you are or why you're here, but you're not going to damage this place any more." Both Senshi turned to face the mages, Neptune focussing on Nanoha and Fate while Uranus watched Cher and Henrietta.

"We don't want to hurt anyone, and we don't mean to be here... if we could go home, we would..." Nanoha tried, but Henrietta cut her off.

"Shut up, Clerk. Who the hell do you think you are, trying to order us around? There are weapons here, weapons we need! And I'll destroy anything that gets in our way." The axe-wielding Frenchwoman growled, raising her weapon.

"Peace, Henrietta. This battle is unfavourable. We will return later." Cher told her companion before taking her arm and chanting a spell under her breath. Both mages disappeared a moment later.

"And you?" The Outer Senshi turned their full attention on Nanoha and Fate, clearly ready to dispense their own form of justice…


	5. Safe Haven

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the worlds in this fic, or anything else portrayed. I did create the villains and story, though. They're not really worth taking, but if you do, just let me know if you would. Maho Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha and Maho Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's were produced by Ivory and Seven Arcs. Sailor Moon and its sequels were written by Naoko Takeuchi, and published by Japonica Polonica Fantastica (JPF).

* * *

**Chapter 5 - 'Safe Haven'**

13.15, 13th June, Commercial District, Tokyo, Earth.

"Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune! Don't kill them!" The blonde who landed between the Outer Senshi and the Bureau Mages was wearing a similar uniform to the other Senshi, though hers was more decorated and ornate. The most striking part of her appearance was her hair, however, two ankle-length tails falling from just behind balled-up hair that looked for all the world like a pair of _Odango_ dumplings.

She was facing the two Outer Senshi, but a moment later a second form dropped in facing the Mages. This Senshi was had short, blue-black hair and blue-trimmed armour, if the _fuku_s all the Senshi wore could be called that.

"They're not the enemy!" The blonde continued. "You don't have to kill them, so…"

"They're Outsiders, Moon. You don't know that." Uranus spoke harshly. "They could be setting a trap, working with the ones who caused this damage."

"We've been watching them since they arrived, they haven't hurt anyone. They're here alone." Moon replied, stressing subconciously that they were alone. Just like the Senshi...

"We shall leave this up to you, Sailor Moon." Neptune said, softly. "You know as well as we what may happen... If they are enemies..."

"We know what we have to do." Mercury said quietly. "So please, just trust us, Neptune."

"Fine." Uranus said curtly, as though disgusted by the whole thing. "On your heads be it." With that, she turned and jumped away, Neptune not far behind.

"Thankyou." Moon muttered, before turning to the mages. "Sorry about that. They're a bit excitable sometimes." Suddenly, the long-haired senshi giggled, seeming much younger. Belatedly, Nanoha realised that they were about the same age. "I'm Sailor Moon, protected by the power of the Moon, and leader of the Sailor Senshi. In the name of Love and Justice, I protect this planet. And... I'm sorry for anything that might have attacked you since you got here. It's a bit messed up at the moment."

"What she means is, monsters have been appearing recently and we haven't managed to find out where they're coming from. We try to stop them as soon as they appear, but..." The Senshi in blue told them. "My name's Mercury, by they way. Senshi of Ice and Wisdom. Welcome to earth."

"Um... actually... I'm from earth..." Nanoha ventured. "Takamachi Nanoha... Time and Space Administration Bureau mage, Triple-A class..."

"So you must be Fate Testarossa..." Mercury mused, turning to Fate. "Venus told us about her meeting with you. I'm sorry we had you watched, but with everything that's happened, anything unusual might be the cause of another catastrophe."

"It's alright, if you'd appeared in Bureau space, we would have done something similar." Fate spoke quietly. "We... do not plan to stay long, but if there is anything we can do to help with the monsters until we can contact the Bureau, we would be glad to assist. We are also protectors of the innocent, though it seems that some business that falls within our jurisdiction has affected you here."

"We should go somewhere else to talk about this, guys." Moon spoke up, and the others heard the sirens of the approaching police. "Come on, the others are waiting." At that, she turned and ran into an alleyway. Mercury followed a moment later, and the mages looked at each other before following. It might still be a trap...

They ran for almost twenty minutes, and though the Senshi didn't seem winded in the slightest when they finally slowed outside a construction site Fate and Nanoha both had to pause to catch their breath. Even though both girls trained extensively and were in peak condition, the sailor-suited warriors had sprinted flat out the whole way. '_Maybe their planets' protection extends to extra stamina..._' Nanoha mused. As a physical education instructor, it seemed almost like cheating to her, but, she reminded herself, these girls weren't her students.

The girls jumped the fence around the building site, and after sharing another look, she and Fate jumped up to grab the top of the fence before hauling themselves over it and dropping to the floor on the other side. A chime in her mind warned Nanoha that the abrasion against the fence was reducing her armour, and wryly she realised that the power in the cartridge was almost expended. The problems of auxiliary power mode...

In the middle of the site, two other girls waited, along with a pair of large housecats, including the white tom they'd seen a couple of times. Evidently, they were familiars of some kind.

One of the girls was Venus, and the other wore her brown hair just as long, though tied up in a tail. Her fuku was trimmed in green, and unlike the others her boots had hardly any heel at all, and she appeared to actually have some trained musculature. She wore pink rose earrings, the only concession to femininity anywhere on her, since she somehow made the leotard and miniskirt look masculine.

"You've met Venus. The other is Jupiter. The cats are Luna and Artemis." Mercury told them as they came into the cleared area. Jupiter stood up, folding her arms agressively as they approached.

"I still don't think this is a good idea." The brunette told the others as though the mages weren't there. "Especially if the Outers don't like them."

"The outers don't like anyone, Jupiter." Venus chuckled, pushing off the end off the pipes. "Besides, Rei agreed, and she's not exactly weak herself."

"Um... excuse us..?" Nanoha ventured, and the Senshi looked at her. "It's nice to meet you... my name is Takamachi Nanoha." She bowed, low. There was something about these people, despite their disagreements, that made her feel like she was in the presence of royalty.

"At least she's polite." The black cat, Luna, said. "Stand up straight. You don't need to bow so low. We've discussed this already."

"Yeah!" Moon said, cheerfully. "Rei lives in a shrine nearby, she's agreed to talk her grandfather into taking you on as assistants until you find somewhere to stay or some way to get home."

"Rei is a friend of mine." Jupiter elucidated. "We just figured it would be easier to keep an eye on you if we knew where you were."

"Oh.. um..." Nanoha clearly didn't know what to say, having been caught by surprise.

"Thankyou. We accept..." Fate rescued her. "Any help you can provide would be appreciated, and... though our magic is not functioning correctly at the moment, anything we can do to help also, we will. I am confident that we can recover our abilities with time, as two of the mages who appeared in the battle you halted used similar powers." The blonde mage cast her eyes to the ground, as though in apology.

"Mercury might be able to help with that. She's a genius." Venus grinned, and the dark-haired senshi blushed. "Come on, I'll take you to the shrine." She turned away, then paused, looking back. "You two can't jump like us, can you?" Venus realised, looking at Fate for confirmation.

"No... we can usually fly, but until we work out what's wrong with out linker cores, we can't use such powerful sustained magic for long." Nanoha was the one to answer, but the blonde nodded anyway.

"We'll have to take the long way round, then." Venus decided, but at that moment Fate's barrier jacket finally gave up the ghost, revealing her street clothes, which after two nights sleeping rough were looking a little ratty. "Do you have a change of clothes?" Venus asked, blinking.

"Ah, no..." Fate blushed, looking down at herself. She really was a bit of a state. Seconds later, what was left of Nanoha's armour faded as well to reveal her only slightly better off casual outfit.

"You'll have to talk to Rei about new clothes..." Venus said, thinking of the time. "Think she'll lend them something?" She asked, looking at Mercury.

"I think she might..." The Senshi of Wisdom replied, nodding. "You should go, though, or you'll be late back..."

"Right, right." Venus nodded, waving a hand dismissively. "Come on, you two, follow me." She turned and walked away before jumping the fence. She waited a moment on the other side before leading them to the main street. "Actually... it is a long way. Do you have any money?"

"No, not really... a hundred yen maybe?" Nanoha replied, shrugging.

"Doesn't matter. Here. Take the bus to Cherry Hill. Should be one by in a few minutes, the stop's just there." The blonde pointed and gave Nanoha a couple of ¥500 notes. "you should ask Rei about getting a bus pass."

"Thankyou, Venus-san." Fate murmured, and the two bedraggled waifs went to catch a bus.

* * *

The shrine, when they disembarked, wasn't visible from the roadside. Only the bottom of the steps could be seen. There were more than at the shrine in Uminari, Nanoha realised, but they were smaller. With a shared, long-suffering look, the two girls began to climb.

Ten minutes later, they finally reached the top, walking under the Tori gate and sharing another, slightly more stunned look as they passed through what felt like a fairly strong barrier. The buildings were built traditionally, held off the ground on wooden piles, but a stand to one side was newer with a corrugated iron awning. In the booth stood a girl with raven hair the same length as Venus'. She was wearing shrine clothing, but it looked like she'd only just gotten dressed, or possibly changed. She finished a transaction, selling good luck charms to a pair of young teenage girls, then looked up to see the mages standing there. Stepping out the back of the booth, she walked over to them.

"Are you Jupiter's friends?" She asked, bowing, then continued when they nodded. "My name is Hino Rei, I'm the priest's granddaughter. Please, come this way. You look like you could use some food and rest, and a change of clothes."

"Thankyou, Hino-san." Nanoha said, and two mages followed the priestess into the shrine building. "Thankyou for your hospitality. My name is Takamachi Nanoha."

"Fate Testarossa-Halloun." Fate echoed a moment later.

"Please, we can save formal introductions for when you meet my grandfather. For now, let me run you a bath and find you a change of clothes." Rei told them, opening a sliding door and ushering them into a room. "This is one of the guest rooms, you're welcome to stay here while I run the bath. You don't mind sharing, do you..?" That was more directed at the european-looking Fate than the clearly japanese Nanoha.

"It's fine... thankyou." Fate bowed her head as she spoke, and Rei nodded.

"Alright. I'll be back shortly." The priestess bowed before closing the door behind her.

"There's something strange about her..." Fate whispered when she was gone, and Nanoha looked at her, questioningly.

"What do you mean?" She asked, sitting down on one of the mats on the floor. The room was about ten feet square with tatami mats on the floor and cupboards built into the wood-and-plaster walls, presumably containing storage or bedding.

"I do not know... she acts in such a manner, but it feels like there is something else beneath that which is more her..." Fate shook her head, unable to put her feelings into words.

"I see... I think she's trying to conform to the image of the miko, that's all. She's probably an ordinary girl when she's not wearing robes, that's all." Nanoha smiled, shrugging slightly, and Fate sat next to her.

"Are you alright, Nanoha-chan?" The blonde asked, noticing how her friend was hugging her knees to her as though someone might steal them.

"I'm fine... it's just this place. It reminds me of home... do you remember, in Uminari, the shrine on top of the hill... when my father was in hospital, I used to spend a lot of time up there, praying for him to get better." Nanoha paused, then shook her head. "I don't know why this made me think of it, but..."

"Did you have friends there?" Fate asked, moving closer and putting an arm around her.

"At the shrine? Yes... well, sort of. There was a miko there, well, that's what I thought at first... only, she was a fox spirit bound to the shrine. She looked kind of like Arf, and they're kind of alike, though I think Arf might be a bit more violent..." Nanoha trailed off as she realised what she was saying.

"Arf is a dire wolf. I'm not surprised she's a little more confrontational than a fox." Fate responded with a little chuckle.

"I remember, you told me about that... how you found her sick and with Precia's fam... Linith's help you nursed her back to health and made her your familiar." Nanoha nodded, relaxing a bit and leaning into the hug, feeling guilty for bringing up Precia's name but still not feeling wholly comfortable with referring to a construct she'd never met by personal address.

"Back when we first me... I was sure that Yuuno was your familiar... I remember thinking... why does she have such a small, weak creature..?" Fate trailed off, but continued after a moment. "I almost wish sometimes that I'd been right..."

"What do you mean? Why..?" Nanoha asked, trying to thinkk of a reason.

"I didn't exactly treat him well, did I..?" Fate answered, perhaps slightly too quickly. '_And if he was just a familiar, he wouldn't want to be anything more..._' she didn't let herself say aloud.

* * *

17.00, 13th June, Hidden Location

"Henri, are you alright?" The speaker was a brunette woman with a bob-cut who stepped out of the darkness of the room with a look of concern on her face. She spoke french, and the response came in the same language.

"I'm fine, Fleur. Just a little tired. And annoyed." The axe-wielder sighed as she stood up again, using her axe as a crutch. "Cher, why did you have to do that? We could have taken them!" She looked at the swordswoman, who simply shrugged.

"You were injured, we were outnumbered, and there were more of them coming." She told her compact ally. "You need to learn to judge your strength, Henrietta. You're still too impulsive."

"Stop lecturing me, Cher. You're the youngest of us, you shouldn't keep acting like you're everyone's mother."

"And you sound like a bitter old woman, Henrietta de Marque." Louis' voice rolled in like warm treacle as he strolled into the room. "How did it go? I notice you've come back empty handed."

"I deemed that a strategic retreat was in order. Henrietta attacked two bureau mages and an unkown local magic-user on her own and was nearly killed. More locals showed up and threatened all present parties. On the other hand, we have located two of the artifacts our scanners have detected. Both mages carry devices equipped with the Velka cartridge system, though the weapons appear to be Midchildan in design."

"That's good news. What of these locals? Are they a threat to our mission?" Louis asked.

"No, unless we cross their paths. When we arrived, one of them was engaged with the bureau mages along with a summoned creature of some kind. The two who appeared later seem to be guardians of this system. If we do nothing to anger the guardians, they should leave us alone. The other, however, appeared to be gathering energy for some unknown purpose."

"Gathering energy?" Fleur asked, raising her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"She pointed her finger at me and ripped my linker core out. It felt like she was trying to suck the energy in the grid through it to her hand... there were a few mundane locals nearby she'd already drained. Cher stopped her, and I managed to reabsorb my core, but..." Henrietta's turn to respond, and she managed to sound put out rather than exhausted.

"Interersting. What did she call herself? This power could be useful if we can convince her to release the secret to us..." Louis tapped his chin, scheming.

"Aventurine, like the gemstone. She also mentioned a 'Lady Lithium', but I don't know who that is."

"I'll look into it." Fleur offered, and Louis nodded.

"Good. Fleur, how is Camille doing? Any success locating the other two artifacts?" Louis turned to the support mage and their group's information specialist, who shook her head.

"Nothing, I'm afraid, but she's still looking. She reported earlier that she'd canvassed the two continents to the east, however, and was starting on the main mass to our east." Fleur responded.

"Very well. Keep me informed... I will be in my cabin, with Excalibur." Louis turned and left without waiting for an answer.

"As you wish." Fleur gave one anyway, and he waved over his shoulder one-handed.


	6. Day to Day

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the worlds in this fic, or anything else portrayed. I did create the villains and story, though. They're not really worth taking, but if you do, just let me know if you would. Maho Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha and Maho Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's were produced by Ivory and Seven Arcs. Sailor Moon and its sequels were written by Naoko Takeuchi, and published by Japonica Polonica Fantastica (JPF).

A/N: I feel such a conch! I uploaded the wrong Chapter 6 yesterday, so here's the fixed version! At least it's good to know I still have readers... 

* * *

**Chapter 6 - 'Day to Day'**

17.00, 14th June, Senshi HQ, Motoki's Arcade, Tokyo City, Earth.

"Fate-san, how did you get your powers?" Mercury asked, curiously. The Senshi headquarters hidden under the games arcade had seemed the best place to investigate why their magic hadn't worked, but for now only Mercury and Fate were there. Somehow, the blonde mage hadn't been surprised at its' existance.

"My mother taught me." Fate sighed. "Magic is something you have to learn. It's hard work, but I think that it was worth it..."

"If we're going to work out how to get yours back, you're going to have to explain to me how it should work, then." The blue-haired Senshi decided.

"At home, all creatures have a linker core that allows them to tap into the background magic of an area. In most, the core isn't strong enough to let them channel enough magic to cast spells, but anyone who has a high enough quality core can learn magic. In order to help mages cast the more powerful spells, however, some cultures have created devices that make channeling power and forming it into spell-forms easier." She paused for a moment while she took Bardiche out from her pocket. "This is Bardiche, my Intelligent Device. He's in storage form at the moment, but you saw during the battle that his full form is an axe. There are three other kinds of Device that I know of. Intelligent Devices like my Bardiche are effectively spell libraries as well as channeling aids. Storage devices, like the ones those other mages had, are the most common kind of Device. They act as batteries, storing magical energy for later use. Armed Devices are used only by Knights. They have a cartridge system buit into them that allows them to overcharge their spells, but are mostly designed for use as weapons. Finally, there's the Unison Device. I only know of one that exists. It acts as an Intelligent Device most of the time, but can merge with its' wielder to enhance their magical ability more fluently than an external Device could."

"So now your problem is that you can't channel magic through your linker core, only through your Device?" Mercury asked, tilting her head to one side thoughtfully. "Bardiche has a cartridge system, though. Shouldn't that make it an Armed Device?"

"He was originally built without the cartridge system. His functionality is still closest to that of an Intelligent Device, so that's what I call him, despite the later addition of the cartridge system. As it is, I can't channel magic at all except by using a cartridge."

"Then it's possible..." Mercury made a small thinking sound, then activated her visor. "I'm going to scan you, see if I can find anything wrong. Can you tell me anything about this background magic you mentioned?"

"Not really. I don't understand it fully. It's life-energy, replenished by living things, but they also drain it to live." Fate replied. "It's a force of nature. It's been measured as having a frequency and wavelength, but I can't tell you what they are."

"Hmm... well, I can't see anything wrong with you. Can you tell me about the battle with the other mages?"

"Nanoha and I were fighting one of the monsters that have been showing up. It had a handler who seemed to be telling it what to do. Her name was Aventurine, I think. Then the axe-wielding mage, Henrietta, attacked me out of nowhere and destroyed the monster." Fate paused, remembering. "Then Aventurine attacked her somehow, drawing out her linker core and draining the energy from it."

"Ah!" Mercury exclaimed. "That's how we found you! We were looking for your energy signatures when we felt someone's heart crystal being ripped out. Something was hurting the earth... it must have been this Aventurine draining Henrietta's energy!" The genius turned to one of the consoles and started typing in commands rapidly. Within moments, she'd pulled up the scanning log. "This, here, and this... this means that something was draining the earths' energy. That would explain why Ma... Tuxedo Kamen's been having so much trouble with his heart."

"Tuxedo... Kamen?" Fate asked, blinking.

"Yes. Each of the Senshi is protected by the power of one of the planets, except for Sailor Moon, who has the power of the sun and moon. Tuxedo Kamen is the old prince of Earth, and in the same way as we're Senshi because we're the reincarnations of the royal families of the planets, he's protected by the power of the Earth. That's also why there's no Sailor Earth - its' power is passed down through the male side of the family. But if something happens to the power of the planet that protects a Senshi, that has an adverse affect on the Senshi's body. If Aventurine has been draining the Earth, that woud explain why Tuxedo Kamen has been bedridden."

"I see... but what's a heart crystal?"

"I think it may be what we call your linker cores. A few months ago, we had some trouble with a group called the Death Busters. They were searching for people with pure heart crystals to turn into daimons. The Outers first showed up around that time also, searching for three artifacts that were said to be hidden inside pure heart crystals. It's possible to draw someone's heart crystal out, but it's very painful."

"If they're the same as linker cores..." Fate shuddered, clutching at her chest in memory. "It's indescribable."

"I think I've found the problem." Mercury smiled, changing the subject as the computer dinged. "It can't find any sign of a background energy grid. You'll have to find another way to power your magic."

"That's what happened..." Fate realised. "These problems with Tuxedo Kamen... aren't because of Aventurine draining the Earth's power. Most people's linker cores aren't high enough quality to drain much power through. It wouldn't have had any serious effect until she drained a mage... but if Henrietta and her friend have trained themselves to draw energy from the Earth instead of the grid, that would be a massive drain, especially given the power of their spells."

"But when we use that energy from our own planets, we draw massive amounts... yet the rest of the time it doesn't seem to affect us." Mercury frowned, thoughtfully.

"That power is given freely, not ripped out forcefully." Fate suggested. "It's like... when Signum first drained me using the Book of Darkness, it hurt like nothing you could believe, but when Nanoha gives me her power for casting Blast Calamity, it doesn't affect her at all."

"That makes sense." Mercury nodded. "So, do you want us to see if the planets will grant you their protection? I'll have to talk to the others about it, but..."

"Let me speak with Nanoha first. This decision affects her too."

"Alright. What can you tell me about her? Nanoha, I mean..." Mercury finally let her curiosity get the better of her. "She seems very... earnest."

"She is." Fate smiled as she thought of her friend. "Nanoha is... amazing. She's always giving, and she never asks for anything back. She doesn't like fighting, but she never holds back. She'll do almost anything if she feels that her message is important enough."

"It sounds like you care about her a lot." The senshi suggested, and Fate nodded, agreeing.

"She brought me back. In the darkest time of my life, I thought there was nothing else worth living for. Except her. You know that they call her the White Devil?"

"No, I didn't... but that name doesn't sound like the person you just described."

"One of the Book of Darkness' defence programs, Vita, called her a devil. She said that it was fine if she was a devil, as long as she could get her point across." Fate chuckled at the memory. "She had just stepped out of a flaming inferno. Maybe it was lighting, but even then she was beautiful. She's the kind of person armies would follow out of sheer devotion."

"How long have you been working with her?"

"We don't, normally... I'm a field operative, but Nanoha is an instructor. She teaches Bureau mages how to fight, and not just through magic. We've known each other for six years, though... we first met when we were both chasing the same lost logia... ah, magical artifacts from lost civilisations. We were enemies at first... my fault. She wanted to be friends from the start. It finally took a direct hit from her Starlight Breaker to knock some sense into me." It was easier to remember it that way, Fate told herself. Better to think that she'd been Nanoha's friend from that moment than to let herself know that she'd thought it would be better to destroy her for her mother until the disownment...

"You fought? How old were you? You're only a little bit older than us... I think?"

"She was nine. I'd existed for a year. She's sixteen now."

"A year? You're only seven years old?" Mercury blinked, taken aback. "Then what..?"

"I'm a clone of my mother's real daughter, Alicia. I have her memories, but... I'm not really her." She paused. "Maybe.. that's why I care about Nanoha so much. She knows that, and she still treats me like a real person."

"You look real enough to me." Mercury smiled.

17.00, 14th June, Hikawa Shrine, Tokyo City, Earth.

"You've done this before, haven't you, Takamachi-san?" Rei's voice was slightly teasing. The two girls were sweeping the top of the steps.

"Yes, but not for a long time. Back home, there was a shrine... it was very similar to this one, although I haven't seen any ghosts or spirits around here unless those crows count." Nanoha chuckled. "The one in Uminari was pretty wierd."

"It's a shrine to one of the fire kami, and grandpa and I keep the barrier up most of the time. There's not much that likes to mess with us here."

"Mmh, it's almost a shame. The shrine at home was looked after by a fox. She was a good friend for a while, but... since I started doing magic of my own, we've drifted apart."

"Where did you say it was? Home, I mean. You told the outers you're from earth, right?" Rei paused, leaning on her broom to watch Nanoha's face as she thought about her response.

"Yes... home is Uminari City, or it was for a long time. I spend a lot of time on Midchilda now. But... I don't even know if Uminari exists here or not."

"I've never heard of it, I'm sorry. What do you mean 'here' though? We're on earth, shouldn't your hometown be here somewhere?"

"It's Earth, but... not the same Earth, I think. At home, there were no Senshi, and for a long time I didn't think there was any magic... silly, I know, but I was a child. Too young to realise that Kuon was a demon. She never really did that much magic when I was near." She chuckled. "Guess she was trying to protect my future without ruining it with all this supernatural stuff I could never do."

"Didn't work, though. Glad?" Rei asked, grinning and carrying on with the sweeping.

"I kind-of wish she'd told me about it. I probably would have been a lot less shocked when Yuuno-kun started talking if she had."

"Yuuno?"

"Yuuno Scrya. He's a librarian, now, but he used to be an archaeologist. He's, ah, a ferret changeling." Nanoha scratched her head, self-conciously. "And... my boyfriend, kind of."

"You're going out with a guy who was a ferret when you met him?" Rei's eyebrows rose. "Or only kind of?"

"Well... It's not going anywhere, and... I guess I just agreed to go out with him because he's there. There aren't a lot of men in my life... thinking about it, the only ones I really talk to a lot are Chrono-kun, who's engaged to Amy-san, and some of the other admirals... who are all much older." She found herself chuckling, though she wasn't sure why it embarrassed her. It had always just seemed normal at home.

"Well, if it's not going anywhere, you shouldn't really stick with it. It's only cruel to keep leading the guy on." Rei told her. "It's possibly better if you're single... since you won't have to worry about your boyfriend being put in danger. Between me and the Senshi, only Moon, Neptune and Uranus have partners, and Neptune and Uranus are together. Moon's hopeless, though. She's been in love with Tuxedo Kamen since they first me when she was fourteen..."

"Tuxedo Kamen?"

"The guardian of earth. He's ill, though, so he's not fighting the monsters."

"Ah... so there's no-one you're interested in, Hino-san?" It was Nanoha's turn to tease, as the dark-haired priestess blushed. "Ooh, it's not a forbidden romance, is it..?"

"No, nothing like that. There's no-one. So what about Testarossa-san? Does she have anyone special?" Rei changed the subject hastily.

"No, but a lot of people seem to think she has something for her stepbrother, Chrono-kun. I don't see it myself, but..." Nanoha shrugged.

"What's she like? Maybe I'll find someone suitable around here for her." Rei grinned, impishly.

"Well... she's quiet, reserved. Her mother... wasn't the nicest person in the world, and she never knew her father. She's strong, though. Underneath the soft shell, there's a core of steel. She won't back down, no matter what. And yet, most of the time, she's so kind and gentle you wouldn't believe it."

"There's more, something you're not saying. I can tell." Rei cajoled her quietly.

"Sometimes, I still see the old loneliness in her. When I first met her, I didn't look at the scythe or the fact she was about to attack, I couldn't help it, I just thought to myself... 'why does she have such sad, lonely eyes?' I mean... she has friends now, all of us, and her team aboard the Asura, but still, sometimes..."

"You worry about her a lot." It wasn't a question, just a stating of fact.

"Yes. I guess I do. She's my best friend... I just want to be there for her."

"You will be." Rei said, decisively. "If anything I've learned about you is true, Takamachi-san, then you'll be there for her when she really needs you."

"Thanks, Hino-san..." Nanoha smiled. "But please... call me Nanoha.."

17.50, 14th June, Roof of the Microsoft building, Infinity District, Tokyo Bay, Earth.

"So that's their story..." Michiru mused. She and Haruka had agreed to meet with Usagi to discuss the mages, but whatever they'd been expecting, this wasn't it.

"I don't think they're lying, but Rei and Ami agreed to sound them out today." Minako added. "We'll know for sure. Not much gets past either of them."

"What about the other ones? The french women? They had the same energy type." Haruka asked, pointedly.

"That doesn't mean they're in league. They claimed not to know the other two, but they did say they recognised the power." Usagi told them. "Isn't there any way to check up on this Bureau they said they work for?"

"That sounds suspicious all on its' own." Haruka scowled.

"Maybe Setsuna will know something, or Chibi-usa?" Michiru suggested, trying to keep the peace.

"That's a good idea. We should ask them." Minako agreed, but Usagi shook her head.

"I don't want to invovle the brat if I don't have to. I'd kill myself if something happened to or because of her." The princess tol them. She wasn't talking about suicide, of course, but what her future self would do if something really bad happened to their daughter. Even if she was an annoying little brat.

"Fair enough, but still, Setsuna..." Whatever Michiru was about to say was cut off as all four of them felt the power spike of someones' heart crystal being torn out nearby.

"I wish there was a way to predict when that would happen!" Haruka growled. "Uranus planet power!" She called, hefting her Henshin rod. All four Senshi transformed before turning and taking running jumps off the edge of the building, trusting their power to get them to the enemy safely.

The site of the attack, when they arrived, was worse off than most of the ones they'd seen so far. The monster was huge, easily twice the size of most of the ones they'd fought over the last month since they'd started appearing, and its' handler was one they didn't recognise. He was short, with multi-coloured hair and no eyebrows.

"Oh, so you showed up! I was almost ready for dissapointment!" He grinned, jumping from where he lounged on top of an inverted taxi to slouch in front of them. "It wouldn't be the first time Aven's divinations got it wrong."

"I am Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon! You've attacked my city and hurt my people! In the name of the moon, I will punish you!" Moon gave him the full treatment.

"My name is Zayt Al-Zaj, Guardian of Science! Betweeen my alchemy and the other three Guardians of Earth, nothing can stop us!" That said, Zayt took a flask from his belt and threw it at them. They jumped back to avoid it, but it shattered on the foor, exploding to catch Moon and Venus in the edge of the blast. "Get out of our way, shadows, or you'll regret it! Our holy task MUST be completed!"

"What task? Why are you hurting us?" Venus demanded as she stood up, slightly the worse for wear.

"Hurting you? You're nothing, just shadows, poor reflections!" Zayt laughed. "You should be flattered to give your energy for the real world on the other side of the mirror!"

"What do you need so much energy for?" Neptune asked. The monster had stopped its rampage and was standing behind Zayt, as though waiting for orders.

"Lady Lithium demands it, in the name of King Rune! For our world to prosper!" Suddenly, he threw another flask. This one exploded to give off a huge cloud of smoke that enveloped the Senshi. As they choked and coughed inside the toxic cloud, trying to find the edge, he waved his minion forward.

Just in time, as Neptune launched her Deep Submerge, carrying the cloud away with it and smashing into the monster. The beam from Venus' Crescent Compact struck it a moment later, and under the effect of both attacks the monster screamed, stretching in all directions before flickering out of existance.

"Damn it!" Zayt cursed, his plan ruined. "You shouldn't have been able to find me that quickly! Ah, well, you're too late anyway! Venus Drain!" He thrust his hand towards Venus, fingers clawed as though grasping something, and the magic he'd been charging activated.

Venus screamed as she rose into the air as though pulled by a cord attached to her chest as her heart crystal rose forth, the golden energy she drew from Venus to power her Senshi abilities snaking forth to flow into the alchemist's hand.

"Yes! More! Such power! I see what you meant now, Aventurine! The power of Senshi and magic users is so much more than these ordinary shadows! Moon Drain!" He thrust his other hand at Sailor Moon, who, like her Senshi failed to avoid the attack in time. Within moments, a flow of pink energy joined the golden as it flowed into Zayt Al-Zaj's infinite holding tanks.

"Very impressive..." Uranus growled, stalking towards him. "But you forgot one thing."

"Oh?" Zayt's eyes were almost white now from controlling the magic, and his hair was starting to bleach from the sheer volume of energy he was channeling.

"You only have two arms. There are four of us. Space Sword Blaster!" She drew her talisman forth and struck the air with it in one smooth motion, the blade turning to energy and scything through the air until it met Zayt's arm. Tied to the two captive Senshi as he was by his own spell, he couldn't avoid the blow.

"Bitch..." He growled in pain as he lost the spell along with his arm. "You'll pay for that... eventually. Sprite Recall!" He threw down a second smoke bomb, and when it cleared, he was gone...


	7. Machination

Disclaimer: I don't own the worlds in this fic, or anything else portrayed. I did create the villains and story, though. I guess that means they're free for the taking, but if you do, just let me know if you would. Maho Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha and Maho Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's were produced by Ivory and Seven Arcs. Sailor Moon and its sequels were written by Naoko Takeuchi, and published by Japonica Polonica Fantastica (JPF)

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Chapter 7 - 'Machination'

19.30, 16th June, Infinity District, Tokyo City, Earth.

"You called me here. What is it exactly that you want?" Cher L'epee asked, fingering the hilt of her sword where it hung from her belt. She and the one who had called her were standing atop a building in the commercial part of the district.

"Lady Lithium suggests a truce. You're looking for something. I'm good at finding things. We have enemies, you're good at fighting. A trade of skills, so to speak." Aventurine stood with her arms folded opposite her, sprite summoner in hand in case things got ugly but hidden in her sleeve of her grey robe. Her combat precognition wasn't quite up to the scratch of her other abilities, and she knew that if she fought Cher, she would almost certainly lose.

"I see. What exactly are you offering us? We have our own divination expert, you know. What makes you think you'll be any better?"

"I found you, didn't I? And you've had no luck finding either my people or those girls." Aven paused to grin. "Besides, I already know where there's an artefact of the kind you're looking for. You wanted those girls' wands, didn't you?"

"Their Armed Devices, yes. With those, we might stand a chance." Cher nodded. "You've found one? We know there were two on this world, but we'd started to assume that they were the ones carried by those girls."

"Hnh." Aventurine chuckled. "Hardly. This one has been here for a very long time. So. Will you agree to meet with my Lady to discuss the terms of our truce?"

"I think I will. Lead on." Cher nodded, but still didn't take her hand away from her sword. After a moment, Aventurine nodded and walked over to her. Putting an arm around her shoulders, she felt the swordswoman stiffen in surprise. Allowing herself a grin, sh .

whispered the words to activate the ocarina she still held.

"Sprite Return."

The building dissolved in a shimmer of colours, and the two women were suddenly standing in a great, dark place. Aventurine led Cher through the corridors, releasing her shoulder once the teleport was complete, until they reached what could only be described as a throne room.

"Lady Lithium. The shadow warrior has agreed to our terms." Aventurine called out, and after a moment light shrouded the throne. A beautiful woman with long, silken black hair, wearing an equally gorgeous midnight blue dress sat there. She had a staff held loosely in her hand, and was resting her chin on the other until she sat up. Aventurine went to one knee in front of her, and after a moment - and not knowing why - Cher followed suit.

"She has? That is good. Bloodstone, come forth." Lithium's voice was as regal as her bearing as she called another servant out. Her guardsman stepped from the shadows behind the throne and bowed. He was a redhead, standing tall and wearing silver armour under a white, sleeveless, coat-like tabard that bore a yin-yang symbol on each shoulder and a large, elaborate mon on the back. In his hand he held a halberd, the western style weapon looking odd with his samurai coat and great armour.

"Yes, my Lady Princess?" Bloodstone asked, his friendly, youthful voice steady and even.

"Have you had any success contacting our mirrors and asking for their aid?" Lithium asked him, and he shook his head.

"I regret not, my Lady. The shadow Prince has proved most elusive, and of his generals there is no trace."

"A shame. This would be much easier with his aid. Ah well. You are being reassigned. You will help your sister and the mirror mage in their quest." Lithium turned to Cher, who had stood up when Bloodstone entered. "Cher, was it? Good. The artefact is in Germany. These two are Aventurine, Guardian of Knowledge, and Bloodstone, Guardian of Right. They will travel with you and give you aid. Aventurine knows where to find what you seek. Treat them well, and they will not fail you."

"You make it sound as though we were weapons, my Lady!" Bloodstone grinned. "Come on, lets go".

"You are weapons, Bloodstone. Remember that. All of you are sworn to serve me." Lithium frowned at him, and he bowed self-mockingly.

"Of course, my Lady."

"Go on, get out of my sight, crazy fool." Lithium almost smiled at the flippant guard, shooing him with a wave of her hand. "You, too, Aventurine. Take Cher and get her an ocarina. I need to guard my energy."

"As you wish, Princess." Aventurine bowed, then paused on the way out. "Um... have you heard anything about home..?" She hesitated as she asked.

"Nothing yet. I'm sorry, I haven't heard what the situation is on the moon or any of the planets." Lithium sounded almost apologetic.

"Why do you not let me scry them, Princess..? I'm sure I could…" Aventurine asked, but it was in the tone of one who already knew that their request would be denied.

"Doing so would mean going back through the gateway, Aventurine, you know that. I need you _here_. If we're to have any chance against Rune, then…" Lithium told her, trailing off. "I know you're worried, but if you want to help them… if we want to help them, then we have to have power."

"I know… it's just so…" Aventurine sighed, defeated.

"Come on, sis. Ari, Karl, I'm sure everyone will be fine." Bloodstone smiled, encouragingly, and the honey-blonde woman nodded with resignation.

"Alright. Lets go… Next stop, Enns-Danube." The two warriors joined hands with the diviner, and together they teleported…

11.30, 16th June, Mauthausen, Austria, Earth.

"The artefact is near here?" Cher asked, raising her eyebrows. "This is not the kind of place I would expect to find a Velkan Armed Device." Mauthausen was, indeed, not the kind of place you'd expect to find anything valuable. It was a picturesque village that didn't look like it had changed in two hundred years. To the west, however, stretched a massive, fenced-off area filled with cinderblock buildings and paved-over ground that gave off a palpable sense of evil and suffering.

"Oh, it's here alright." Aven grimaced. "One of the bloodiest battles in history happened here, and it's all because of the wielder of your 'armed device'." The vile aura emanating from the abandoned concentration camp to the west was making her feel sick, but still, she could feel the older deaths through it.

"Heh, kind of funny, since he was dead before it happened." Bloodstone grinned. "Ah, well, lets grab this artefact and get out of here. What did you say it was called again, Aventurine?"

"Balmung, the treasure-sword of the Nibelung. It's nearby…" Aventurine trailed off, closing her eyes and trying to focus. "That camp's flooding everything… it's hard to concentrate…" She leaned gratefully on Bloodstone as he offered her his arm, concentrating hard.

Cher shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. They were so close to one of the weapons they needed, but it was taking so long! Fingering the hilt of Epee Noir made her feel a little better, though she was glad they were out of sight of the locals. She doubted that Aventurine, in her royal-looking grey robes, or Bloodstone in his samurai armour, or even herself in her side-slit skirt, ruffled blouse and knee-length waistcoat would fit in here.

"I've got it. There's some strange energy readings, though… I think it's guarded." Aventurine spoke after a while, looking drained. "I won't be able to help you get past the traps, there's so much background noise here… I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Just show me the way." Cher told her, and she nodded.

"This way." Aventurine led them through the streets, and somehow none of the locals noticed their passing. She led them up halfway a hill and into a churchyard, which surprised the other two.

"It's buried?" Bloodstone asked, and Aventurine nodded.

"Yes… with Kriemhilde, and the bodies of the Nibelung and other heroes who followed her after their lords' death…" She paused, looking around, before leading them to a grotto dug into the hillside. "Cher… you need to use your magic to open the way. It's beyond me. Just call it up and ask…"

"Alright." Cher drew Epee Noir with a flourish and pointed it at the back of the grotto, calling her power. Her Barrier Jacket formed around her, patchwork metal armour forming over the coat and skirts, gloves flowing across her hands and solidifying. "Open, and show me the way. I am Cher L'epee!"

A whispering sound moved around them, and the back of the grotto seemed to quiver for a moment before melting away to reveal a passage into the hill.

"Sis, wait here, I'll go in with her." Bloodstone told Aventurine, who nodded. "If the way closes behind us, wait an hour, then go back to Princess Lithium and tell her what's happened."

"Alright… be careful." Aventurine told them, and the two warriors nodded before marching into the unknown, weapons at the ready.

* * *

17.50, 17th June, Hikawa Shrine, Juuban District, Tokyo, Earth.

"You're ready for this?" Mercury asked. She was holding the two reconfigured Devices and looking at Nanoha and Fate, who were standing there in matching shrine robes. Rei sat on a rock nearby. They were in the courtyard at the back of the shrine, hidden from prying eyes.

"Yes. I need to fly again!" Nanoha sighed, emphatically.

"You sound so lost." Rei chuckled from her rock. "I'm sure you'll be in the air in no time."

"She can't help it. Nanoha-chan is a person of the sky." Fate murmured, almost to herself.

"Here, then." Mercury moved forward and pressed a Device into each girl's waiting hand. "I'm afraid I had to alter the activation chant a little..." She paused before continuing. "For your Raging Heart, Takamachi-san, you need to pray, 'The power to destroy our enemies, the strength to protect my friends, the grace to make our wishes true, this magic in my hand, the blessings of Jupiter. Raging Heart, Set up.' For you, Halloun-san, Bardiche needs to be asked, 'The strength of my heart, the hope of the future, the faith of my family, by the power of the Moon, Bardiche, set up.' Ah, can you remember all that..?"

"That's fine. Raging Heart? Please run a diagnostic and set up in Device mode." Nanoha threw her hand into the air, allowing the gem to roll to the edge of her fingers, and a moment later her circle appeared beneath her feet, a ribbon of runes rising around her in a spiral. The normal pink was shot through with white-blue and green lightning...

"Bardiche. Check status and set up." Fate span the storage-form Device until it was clasped between her right index and middle fingers like a playing card, holding it across her chest over her heart. Similarly to Raging Heart, the axe-like Device summoned her circle beneath her feet and the rune-ribbon of the diagnostic program encircled her, the gold lightning graced by soft-white luminescence.

"Operating check with the new system has started," Bardiche intoned.

"Order of the Set Up was accepted," Raging Heart agreed.

"The deformation mechanism confirmation is in good condition," Bardiche informed them.

"Exchange parts are in good condition" Raging Heart replied.

"Haken form deformation preparation: A battle with maximum performance is always possible." Bardiche sounded almost… happy.

"Completely cleared from the renewal data item Beta-eight-six-six to Gamma-three." Raging Heart exulted.

"Condition all green. Get set." Bardiche prepared.

"Main system, StartUp," Raging Heart confirmed, "and Jupiter System Active, the level of Synchronicity, ninety, are maintained. Stand By. Ready."

"Drive Ignition!" Both devices declared, finally forming

"... or you could just do that." Mercury blinked when it was finished. "I didn't find anything in the devices that suggested..." For once, the genius looked completely nonplussed.

"Maybe they have a special power." Rei chuckled. "Why those two powers, though?" The miko asked. She'd expected that she would be the other donor, since Mars was the most martial of the planets, therefore having the most combative power to lend the two mages after massive Jupiter.

"The devices chose." Mercury shrugged. "The actual power drain will take less of a toll on the Senshi if the drainers are attuned to the planet by soul." She explained a moment later. "I'm surprised neither of them chose Mars or Venus, however, and I'd expected Bardiche to attune to Jupiter because of its lightning affiliation."

"It's because of Fate-chan's caring nature..." Nanoha smiled, making the blonde blush. "Raging Heart, how are you feeling?"

"Condition: All Green. I can be shot." The Device in her hand declared, the text appearing on the gemstone at the centre of the golden crescent at the head of the staff. "Alert: dimensional transfer detected at range two hundred meters, with a bearing at ninety- three degree magnetic."

"Target acquired. Incoming teleport. Vector zero nine three, two hundred nineteen yards." Bardiche intoned at the same moment.

"Raging Heart, please?" Nanoha asked, and was answered instantly at her armour manifested around her.

"Stand by. Ready." Raging Heart sounded happy as it created her armour. The manifestation of her collar as green surprised her a little, but remembering Jupiter, her seifuku had the same colour on its' trimmings.

"Bardiche. Barrier Jacket, Lightning form." Fate commanded, and the device complied instantly without verbally acknowledging its mistress.

"Ah, Mercury-san, would you mind letting us deal with this?" Fate looked at the blue Senshi, who paused before nodding.

"If it's hostile, then yes. I will step in if I need to, however." She replied, and got a nod in return. "I feel a little bad about fighting in the shrine, though..."

"That's not a problem." Nanoha grinned. "Of course, it might not be an enemy, from what you said." She tilted her head as they moved towards the target site, but before Mercury could answer a Midchilda-type magic circle appeared on the ground before moving upwards to reveal a wiry man with black hair wearing a white, military-looking uniform with large shoulder-epaulettes. When he saw the two Mages, the Senshi and the Miko, he grinned.

"I don't know why her Ladyship asked me to do this but I guess it won't be so boring after all! Not that beating up girls is something I like to do, but at least with your powers, you won't just go down without a fight." He chuckled, keying something in his hand that caused a small tube to rise from the pad on his left shoulder that then flipped down to point at them horizontally.

"That uniform..." Mercury was frowning as she used her visor. "It can't be..." Raising her voice, she called out to the man. "What's your connection to the Silver Millennium earth?"

"Silver? Hah. I am Basalt, of the four guardians of Earth, artillerist of the royal army, assigned by our esteemed King Rune to serve his daughter, princess Lithium. I know you, Oppositio Sailor Mercury. You two, mages, though. All I know is that the Lady's new allies want those staffs!" As he finished speaking, the tube on his shoulder flashed, a bolt of burning plasma streaking forth to be expended against Nanoha's Round Shield.

"Lieutenant Takamachi Nanoha, Combat Instructor and Triple-A Class Mage of the Time and Space Administration Bureau, with the Intelligent Device Raging Heart!" Nanoha told him, bringing her Device around in a half-circle, trailing runes on the floor.

"Wide-area barrier. Dimensional shift ready. The combat area is prepared." Raging Heart intoned.

"Barrier, expand." Nanoha commanded, and with an 'Alright, my Master', Raging Heart obeyed as the black-purple of dimensional space spread from the circle to encapsulate the shrine grounds.

"Fate Testarossa-Halloun, Special Enforcer Triple-A class Bureau mage, with the Intelligent Device Bardiche. If you lay down your weapons and do not resist, it may aid in your defence." Fate murmured a moment later. "Bardiche." She intoned, rising into the air.

"They said you might do that - too bad they said it wont help! Fleur!" He shouted into the air, and a female voice responded a moment later with the strange intonation that indicated a device speaking.

"Grande Retour." Five magic circles appeared around the artillerist, and a moment later a white-haired woman, about Rei's age appeared, clad in flowing robes in the Velkan style with a cluster of red and silver gemstones, each about the size of a small marble orbiting her hand. At the same time, the other four circle revealed more of the shapeless monsters - which, in this space between dimensions, flickered occasionally to reveal something else that was gone too fast for the mages to see.

"Fleur de Metier, of Loui's avengers, with the Intelligent Device Croire. That Velka staff has been selected as mine by our leader. Please hand it and the axe over. Our crusade need not involve two mages trapped so far from home." The mage asked in a soft tone. She reminded Nanoha somehow of Yuuno in her manner. Perhaps it was just her magical aura that was similar.

"I just can't do that." Nanoha grimaced. "Besides, now that you're working with these criminals, I'm afraid we'll have to arrest you."

"So be it." Fleur closed her eyes, then when she opened them there was nothing of the warmth that had been there a moment before. Raising her Device, she focused on Nanoha. "Croire, Barrage of the Ancients."

"Grève d'artillerie de l'ancien." Croire responded, and a swarm of green-white balls of energy sprang into being around the mage before leaping out to strike at the Bureau mages, who split and dodged in opposite directions.

"Plasma lancer: phalanx shift." Bardiche declared at the same time Raging Heart called, "Divine Buster Barrage." From opposite directions, the attacks converged, Fate's arrows and Nanoha's energy balls converging. Fleur shielded against the lances, and Basalt shot down several of the pink globes, but several got through to strike at one of the shadow-creatures.

"Mistress!" It yelled in an almost human voice before stretching into nothingness as the others had.

_Those creatures are more powerful than than normal!_ Nanoha sent, including Mercury and Rei in her telepathic comment. Mercury had the grace to look surprised, but Rei just accepted it. It was almost enough to make Nanoha suspicious about the girl. Indeed, the shrine maiden was standing now as though to actively take part into the battle.

"Nanoha-san, Fate-san, please focus on the leaders. Mercury and I will deal with the ghosts." Rei called up to them before running towards the shadow-creatures, gathering power of some kins. "Aku ryu tai sen!" She commanded as she gave one of the creatures her hand, releasing the holy powers. It staggered for a moment before twisting in agony and disintegrating. "Burning..." She followed, moving her hand in a semi-circle in front of her to leave several wards floating in the air. "Mandala!" She finished, focussing that power again to transform the wards into hoops of fire that shot out to section a second creature and wing a third.

"Shabon Spray!" Mercury declared, spinning to hurl a freezing mist at the remaining group, discus-like. Meanwhile, Fate and Nanoha hadn't been idle.

"Raging Heart, go Excelion form. Activate ACS. Axel Charger; ACS Strike Flame, Excelion Buster. Drive ignition!" Nanoha chanted rapidly as her Device reconfigured itself to reveal its spear form, energy gathering at the tip and two cartridges firing and being ejected.

"Barrel Shot." Raging Heart replied, firing off a the concussion wave that prepared the way for the dual attack. Henrietta shielded against the initial blast, and was somewhat surprised to find the Bureau mage moving rapidly towards her...

"Bardiche. Haken form." Fate whispered as she watched Basalt through narrowed eyes. The axe fired a cartridge before its blade lifted, the energy blade forming shot through with the same soft white that had marked its diagnostic and activation.

"Not enough, not nearly enough!" The Guardian laughed, firing several shots from his shoulder-cannon. Fate flew forwards, twisting and turning in the air as she carved each blast in two with her scythe until finally bringing it down on her enemy, who managed to dodge at the last moment.

_'As I thought... an artillerist has no defences in melee...'_ Fate thought to herself, allowing herself a small smile as she formed a barrier in front of herself and twisted to push her feet against it, changing direction far faster than she could turn while flying to bring the scythe up towards her opponent, who had pulled a large cannon from somewhere and was charging a blast.

"Sonic Move." Bardiche announced, flicking her sideways two meters just as the massive beam passed through her original flight path and allowing her to maintain her momentum as she slashed again at Basalt, who avoided the strike by throwing the barrel of his cannon up to block Bardiche's haft so that the scythe blade stopped inches from his neck.

"Perfect shot." He smirked as his shoulder cannon re-aimed to fire a blast directly at her face. She winced away from it and the blast struck the high collar on her cloak, throwing her away from him and damaging her jacket.

"Outer layer jacket failure. Restoring." Bardiche intoned, the scythe blade flickering out as the device reassigned the energy to repair her armour.

"Break through it! Strike Flame!" Nanoha yelled, and Raging heart burned another cartridge to force the glowing speartip through the green runes. "Excelion buster!"

"Force Burst." Her device intoned, firing the second stage of the buster at point-blank range.

Bouclier de Dieu." Croire intoned, forming a second barrier inside the first that blunted most of the attack's force. Still, Fleur was blasted back, tumbling through the air. "L'alerte, la Température du cœur atteignant des niveaux critiques."

Nanoha moved to follow up with a bind from her left hand, holding Raging Heart out to the right, away from her body as the caps over the vents on the back of the staff's head popped to vent superheated gas. Apparently, the French-woman's device had no such cooling vents. The bind locked around Fleur's arms and legs, holding her immobile. Below, Rei and Mercury finished up the last of the shadows by double-teaming it with their attacks.

"You are under arrest by the jurisdiction of the Time and Space Administration Bureau. You have the right to remain silent. You have waived the right to legal representation, though you may provide a lawyer from your own funds. Raging Heart, sealing mode, set up."

"Stand by. Ready. Set Up." Raging Heart intoned as it reconfigured, the sealing array deploying from under the staff's head in the form of two feathery, glowing pink wings. "Intelligent Device MFSD-34853 Croire, seal! Activation Code Lyrical Magical! Fuin!" She span the staff and aimed at Fleur's hand, the ribbons of energy that composed the sealing spell flowing at her command to wrap around the individual gems of the Device.

"No! Not like this! Croire, Rappeler de Sauveur!" Fleur screamed, and her overheated Device flashed once before exploding. When the dust and smoke cleared, however, there was no sign of the mage. At that precise moment, however, Nanoha felt something powerful strike against her Barrier. The attack was almost as strong as anything the Book of Darkness had thrown at her, though not quite enough to shatter it.

"Energy signature detected. My master, it is cognizant with energy analysed during battle with Senshi Uranus and Neptune." Raging Heart told her.

"Let them in." She told the Device, and the barrier compiled, opening a small hole in front of the two outer Senshi that allowed them into the transdimensional space. _Uranus, Neptune! This is Takamachi Nanoha. We have trapped one of the locals who have been causing the monster attacks within this barrier and are in the process of subduing him._

Sprinting up the stairs after the strange, grey-purple barrier let them in, the two Outer Senshi were somewhat surprised by Nanoha's message. They had suspected that the Bureau mage had been behind the disturbance, but they hadn't known the nature of it. In a way, it was something of a relief that the inners' trust had been rewarded in such a manner, but for it to happen was too rare for them to be allowed to fall into bad habits.

Then again, the scene that met them at the top of the stairs was not reassuring. One of the shrine buildings was on fire, and another had been crushed by something. Mercury and Rei were standing on the ground, staring up at a battle overhead.

"Bastards! She was right about you! You claim to be after peace and justice, but you're really just a bunch of murderers!" Basalt screamed at them, throwing his now damaged cannon at Fate and pulling forth a pair of multi-barrelled weapons almost as large out of the same dimensional space, laying down a withering hail of fire… which Nanoha built a Round Shield against while Fate boosted above him before sweeping forward impossibly fast to bring her scythe around in an arc that sliced both gatlings in half and severed his shoulder-cannon.

"No!" He yelled, spinning to face the Bureau mage, who had spun after her last strike to face him from behind. He started to glow, gathering a huge amount of energy into his hands. "I didn't know her for long… but she was a good child… even if she was just a poor reflection of a person, she deserved to live… I'll destroy this world, and everything in it!"

"She's not dead! She teleported away!" Nanoha cried, trying to prevent the blast. "So you don't have to..!"

"Liar! I saw her die! Nothing could have survived that explosion in this weak world, and you forced it!"

"The energy readings are off the scale!" Mercury commented, scanning him with her visor. "I don't think he could stop even if he wanted to… we have to stop him somehow, or that much energy will…"

"Enough." Uranus growled, making everyone – including Basalt – look at her. "I don't care where you came from or what you want, but you've threatened this planet. In the name of the fallen Silver Millennium, you cannot be forgiven." With that, she drew her Talisman. "Space Sword Blaster!" She growled, swiping the air with the weapon and sending a cutting crescent of energy up at Basalt. He directed some of his gathered energy to divert the attack, but the sword seemed to blur around it to bite into his flesh, cutting him in half diagonally.

"N… no..! Mistress!" He screamed, stretching out and, for a moment, becoming a shadow-creature silhouette before vanishing in the same manner as his monster minions.

"Damn." Fate swore, softly. She'd been hoping that they might be able to capture and interrogate him. "Back to square two..." She muttered, floating down to land in front of the two Outers and dismissing her Jacket. Nanoha landed a moment later and did the same, both Devices returning to their Storage Forms as they did so. As Raging Heart deactivated, the barrier vanished to reveal an unharmed shrine, which shocked Rei to be certain.

"Why did you kill him?" Nanoha asked Uranus directly. "We could have subdued him! Even if that mage got away, one prisoner would have been good."

"He was berserk. He wasn't going to surrender, and he was an enemy." The Senshi of earth told her. "If you don't kill enemies, they just come back to haunt you."

"That kind of philosophy..." Nanoha frowned, drawing back. "Enemies are just friends you haven't made yet. Even if you have to hurt someone... to call on the devil's visage to get your message through to them, you should keep trying."

"If only that worked... maybe it has for you, but for a Senshi, there can be only the conviction to do what's necessary. That's what separates us from those girls, and you." Neptune sighed as she moved to stand beside her partner. "If there was another way, then maybe, but... when an enemy thinks that you are nothing but a reflection of something you know, can you really hope to make them listen?"

"If he'd lived, and escaped, then he would have brought allies. He probably found you by the energy spike you sent up when you activated your magic. Next time, he would have known not to come alone, since the Senshi are here." Uranus finished. She frowned suspiciously as the mages looked at each other.

"He did. He came with one of those mages, and several monsters. I think he only expected to find us, but..." Nanoha started, somewhat sheepishly.

"... The mage escaped." Fate finished the sentence. "Speaking of that..." She looked at Nanoha, who nodded.

"Her Device was destroyed. She shouldn't be too much of a threat now, unless she has too many allies." As she was speaking, she took Raging Heart out again. "Raging Heart?"

"Yes, my master. The mage's device was positively identified as Croire, a unique Device created by the distaff branch of the Scrya family, residing in the Ankann independent state of Midchilda." The Device's tone took on an almost rhythmic quality as it quoted from its database. "Croire was developed to enhance the distaff's abilities to match those of a true member of the Scrya tribe. In the hands of a powerful mage, Croire would become undefeatable. It is a AAA ranked Midchildan Intelligent Device.

"Scrya? Then that Fleur is related to Yuuno-kun?" Nanoha blinked. "I didn't realise there even was a distaff family... I thought it was just him and his tribe."

"Distaffs usually break off from the main branch of a family or tribe because they're not equal to the main group in some way, so that might have been her motivation with joining with this other group." Mercury mused. "But this does mean that our two enemies have definitely allied."

"Rei-san, that power you used. It was similar to the powers the Senshi use..." Fate looked at the priestess. "Is there something you're not telling us?"

"Umm..." Rei blinked, unsure how to answer that. "I suppose that since the spirits that give me the power are nature spirits, that power comes from the same source as the Senshi's?"

"Raging Heart! Stop that!" Nanoha cut in, glaring at her necklace. "Sorry, Rei-san, she decided it would be a good idea to scan you. She's not programmed to have good manners, it seems."

"Ah, that's alright..." Rei mumbled, secretly relieved. A scan might have found her henshin rod, after all.

"Either way, it's not important where Hino-san gets her power." Neptune coughed. "This place isn't safe for you two any more, but since those mages' main interest seems to be in your talismen, moving you away should take the shrine out of danger."

"I agree, tactically, but where should we go?" Nanoha asked, thinking.

"The Senshi have a base in the city, perhaps there?" Fate suggested, but Uranus vetoed the idea.

"No, you'll come to our building. There's no provisioning for living at headquarters, and if anyone tries something with Hotaru in the building, they'll get more than they bargained for to say the least." The blonde Senshi decided.

"That and she wants to interrogate you." Neptune grinned. "We should go, though, before anyone else shows up. Three sailor Senshi and two outsider mages in one shrine are bound to attract the wrong kind of attention. We've got a car parked around the corner, just let me..." With that, the teal-haired Senshi summoned her henshin rod and dismissed her transformation, becoming once again Michiru Kaiou. A moment later, and Uranus returned to her civilian identity as well.

"That's that. Being super-strong and super-fast can be fun for a while, but those outfits are draughty." Haruka grinned, patting down her trousers and jacket to make sure she had everything. "Nice to meet you, cutie. My name's Haruka. This is Michiru." She introduced Neptune's human form. "Since you'll be staying with us for a while, and you've shown we can trust you, it would be stupid to try and hide it."

"Mmh, yes." Michiru smiled, looking much more feminine than her partner in a tartan skirt and white blouse.

"You two live together?" Nanoha asked, blinking. "You must be pretty close."

Behind them, Rei and Mercury looked at each other amusedly and wondered how long it would take the mages to figure it out.


End file.
